Wordless
by the real vampire
Summary: PRNS. When some familiar but unwelcome faces from Hunter's past suddenly turn up they turn the ‘safe’ world he knows upside down. Suddenly he’s faced with the recurring nightmare of his childhood and he has no one to turn to…
1. Blast from the Past

Disclaimer: Unfortunately none of the characters you recognise belong to me. BUT there are a few of my own in here so you can't use them unless you ask me (as if you'd want to!). Ok, that's the formalities over with, onto the story...

* * *

It was surprisingly quiet day in Blue Bay Harbor. All the power rangers, apart from Cam who had preferred to stay in the cool darkness of Ninja Ops, were hanging out at Storm Chargers since Lothor had failed to launch another monster on the town and Sensei had been unable to find anything to keep them occupied.

"Aw man, I can't believe it." Dustin said, stretching his legs out. "Finally, a day off. No monsters, no fighting, even Sensei's gone soft on the training sessions."

"I know." Blake said, "Must be the heat."

It had been a particularly hot summer that year, even now in September it was at least 45 degrees in the shade. Lothor had launched a number of half-hearted attacks, but they had been unsuccessful. This was not only due to the hard work of the rangers, but the heat had even got to his monsters. They just hadn't been able to cope.

"Here we are." Hunter said carrying a tray of ice-cold smoothies.

Blake gave them a suspicious look, he was too used to Hunter's 'cooking'.

Hunter noticed the look, "I didn't make them," he assured them.

"No, I did." Tori said, throwing herself down next to Blake.

With that they all grabbed one and began to drink. The coolness of the smoothie was a pleasant relief from the heat.

The door of the shop opened with a ring of the bell. Two people entered, a man and a woman.

"Wow, them dudes look a little too old for this sort of thing." Dustin remarked.

"Hush, maybe they're here to buy something for their kids." Shane said.

The others turned to look. Hunter, who had just taken a gulp of his drink, choked.

"Hey bro, watch it." Blake said, slapping him on the back.

The two people spoke for a few minutes with Kelly, who pointed at the group.

"Uh oh, what's she sent them over here for?" Dustin said. "It's my day off."

Hunter got up; "I'll see you guys in a minute, I'm just, you know…" he headed quickly towards the toilets.

"Man, what did you put in his smoothie?" Dustin said to Tori.

Hunter's hurried escape was cut off by an exclamation from the woman.

"Hunter sweetie, is that you?"

He froze, then turned to face her slowly. "Uh, hi. Do I know you?" he said.

"I know it's been a few years, but I'd have thought you'd remember your mother!" she said, looking a little hurt.

"Right." he said, and turned to leave again.

"Is this the sort of welcome you give your mother after all these years?" the man seemed to growl.

Hunter stopped. "Why are you here?" he said softly.

The other rangers were dumbstruck.

"Has he ever said anything to you about his parents?" Shane asked Blake.

Blake was as confused as the others. "No. I always assumed they were dead."

"Honey." his mother said, "We heard you were here and so we thought it was time to… to see you again. Phil got us a house and it's, well, it's got a room for you."

"You want me to live with you? No thanks. I'm happy where I am." he replied coolly, yet Blake noticed his hands were shaking.

"Don't speak like that to your mother." the man, obviously Phil, growled. "Of course you're going to live with us."

Dustin rolled his eyes at the others. They all knew that no spoke to Hunter like that. He wouldn't move in with them.

But, to everyone's surprise, instead of arguing, Hunter just lowed his eyes and said, "Ok, I'm sorry."

"So you'll move in?" his mother asked.

"Yes."

She smiled, "I knew you'd come around to the idea. We got your address off that nice girl that works here, Kelly her name was. We'll come round tomorrow and pick up your stuff."

Hunter just nodded. With another smile, Hunter's mother and Phil turned to leave. Once his mother had left, Phil turned and pointed a finger at Hunter, "Be ready, y' hear. Your mother's been through a lot 'cos of you. She's getting another chance and I don't want you to ruin this for her." With that he was gone.

Hunter numbly walked back to the rangers. They stared at him in confusion.

"That was your mother?" Cam asked him.

He nodded.

"Who was the man?" Tori asked.

"He was…" Hunter swallowed. "He was Phil. My stepfather."

"You never said anything about them before." Blake said, almost accusingly. "I thought they were dead. Why didn't you…?"

"Just leave it." Hunter said quietly.

"No." Blake said angrily. "I thought your parents were dead, just like mine. After everything we've been through it turns out you've been lying to me. You knew, yet…"

"I said leave it." Hunter yelled at Blake. The four of them stared at him in shock; Hunter hardly ever yelled at anyone, let alone his 'brother'. He turned and almost ran out of Storm Chargers.


	2. End of an Era

I have always assumed that Blake and Hunter were only adopted brothers, not real brothers. This story is going by that. If I have made a mistake I am sorry, but just so no one gets confused, in this story they are NO relation. Right. That's that. On with the next chapter...

* * *

Blake got home to find Hunter surrounded by his stuff with his head in his hands.

"Hey." he said softly. "You need a hand?"

Hunter nodded, then turned his head away. When he looked at his brother, Blake noticed his eyes were slightly red, as if he had been crying. In the years that Blake had lived with Hunter, he had never ever known him to cry.

With a small sigh he squatted down next to him.

"I'm sorry, about before. Yelling at you in Storm Chargers." Hunter said quietly.

"Don't worry about it. I was out of line."

Blake looked around at the mess Hunter had made. "Well, you've got a lot of stuff to pack. We better get started."

"I'm not taking everything. Is it ok if I leave some stuff here?"

"Sure. You'll want most of it though, right?"

Hunter didn't answer. The two of them got to work. The first mystery came when Blake went to pack Hunters scrapbook. It was a book that he had been adding too ever since they were little at the Thunder Ninja Academy together. Blake knew it was precious to him as it had photos of their adopted parents in it so assumed it would be going with him. To his surprise, Hunter said he wanted to leave it with Blake. When Blake asked him why, he simply replied that 'it would be safer', but wouldn't explain any further than that. In fact, Hunter refused to take with him anything that Blake knew was important to him, even his precious bike:

"You're gonna take your bike with you, right?"

"No" Hunter had said quietly.

"But… why?"

"I don't know if the house will have room for it." Hunter had quickly explained. "When I know, then I'll have it brought over."

Blake nodded, but was still puzzled. What Hunter said was sensible (that in itself was a surprise!), but Blake knew that most houses would have room for a bike. Even now, when they lived in a tiny apartment, Hunter refused to be parted from his bike. It was in the garage shared by all the people in their apartment block. Surely it would be safer in a private garage. But, no, Hunter was insisting on leaving it here.

Finally they were finished. The small apartment, which was usually a mess with their stuff, looked even smaller and barer. Hunter had put all the stuff he wasn't taking into his old room – all that was left was Blake's.

"Well, that's that." Blake said. "End of an era."

"I'm sorry, bro. About everything. I wish I didn't have to, but, they're my parents…"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Hunter looked away. "I can't explain. Please, don't ask me to."

"Ok, fine, whatever. But you owe me an explanation."

Hunter smiled. "One day, I promise. Just, not now."

And that was that. No more was said. Blake lay awake for ages, puzzling over Hunter's behaviour. In his room neat door, Hunter was also awake, but for other reasons. He was dreading the morning.

* * *

His parents arrived early. Blake was still in bed and Hunter didn't want to wake him so he quietly gathered his stuff and left a note, before walking out of the door. Phil was waiting in a car outside.

"Is that it?" he said in a way of greeting.

"Everything." was Hunter's calm reply.

Once everything was loaded into the car, Phil wasted no time in driving off. It was as if he couldn't wait to be gone. Hunter, in the back seat, gazed back as his old apartment block faded into the numerous streets. He wished he was still there.

"Stop moping." came Phil's rough voice from the front seat. "God, he is an ungrateful sod that son of yours." he added to Hunter's mum.

Hunter lowered his head. He didn't dare to look up. Finally, the car journey came to an end.

"We're home, Hunter sweetie." his mum said with a smile.

Hunter looked up that they were on the outskirts of Blue Bay, not far from the dirt bike track or the mountains in which the Wind Ninja Academy was situated. The house looked huge. He just stared at it.

"Well?" his mother said, looking worried. "What do you think?"

"It's alright." he made himself say.

"We'll get your stuff in and get you settled into your new room, then we'll have something to eat and… talk. It's been a long time." she gushed.

She was just how Hunter remembered her. Maggie was warm and sincere, yet nervous, wanting everything to be perfect, and ignoring what she didn't want to know about. Nothing seemed to have changed. Phil was still here, and Maggie was clearly forgetting everything that had happened before. Maybe it would be different this time, Hunter thought. Maybe Phil had changed. Of course he had, otherwise they wouldn't be here. So why did he still tremble at the thought of being in the same room as Phil? He'd put all that behind him, or tried to. The fear, the panic attacks, the nightmares…

"Are you ok, honey? Maggie asked, concern of her face.

Hunter forced himself to smile. It _would _be different this time. "I'm fine."

"Good. I've got you some pancakes with maple syrup. They're your favourite." With that she was off into the house, leaving Hunter and Phil to get the bags. Hunter didn't try to tell her that pancakes with maple syrup had been his favourite - when he was five. He hadn't had any in years.

* * *

Back at Ninja Ops the other rangers had met up for a training session.

"Where are Hunter and Blake?" Sensei asked as they entered.

"We don't…" Shane began, but was cut off as Blake ran into Ninja Ops, out of breath.

"Sorry I'm late." he gasped.

"You ran all the way here?" Tori asked.

He nodded.

"Where's Hunter?" Cam asked.

"I don't know." he said, catching his breath. "I woke up this morning and he'd already gone."

"Without saying goodbye?" Shane said incredulously. All the rangers knew how close Hunter and Blake were, just like real brothers. "That's not like Hunter."

Blake smiled grimly, "That's not the only out of character thing he's done. I mean, he even left his _bike_ with me. And it's not as if the house hasn't got room for it; that being the excuse he gave for leaving it. I checked it out this morning; he left me his address with the note. It's huge! And closer to the dirt track than our apartment is. It doesn't make sense."

"Excuse me." Sensei said politely. "Would someone care to explain to me what's going on?"

"And me." Cam added.

"Hunters real parents, well, his mother and step-father, turned up at Storm Chargers yesterday." Blake said. "Wanting him to move in with them."

"I see." said Sensei. "And obviously Hunter has never mentioned them before…?"

"No!" Blake exploded. "As far as I was concerned they were dead. He never talked about them. Ever! He had me believe they were dead. I can't believe he was lying to me for all those years."

"He probably had good reason." Cam said. "If he was abandoned by them…it might have been too painful."

"This is Hunter." Dustin said sarcastically. "The original Mr 'I'm not scared of anything' – remember."

"That's a joke." said Blake.

"Well, have you ever known him to be scared of anything?"

"Yes. Every night." came Blake's calm reply. "He's petrified of the dark. As long as I've known him - that's since he was 12 - he won't sleep with the light off. When I first knew him he wouldn't even sleep. He used to try everything to stay awake and when he did fall asleep he had terrible nightmares. He never talked about them but I used to hear him screaming in his sleep. He hasn't had any for years though."

Everyone stared at Blake in surprise. Hunter had always appeared to them as unafraid of everything – he was known as the 'dark and brooding one' of the group. To hear that he was afraid of the dark came as a shock.

"Don't look so surprised." Blake added. "Everyone's afraid of something, even Hunter. Just, don't tell him I told you, ok. It's not something he's proud of."

"We wouldn't dream of it." Tori spoke for them all.

"I know it's hard for you to take in, Blake." Sensei said, "That someone you've known for a long time hasn't been completely honest, but I'm sure Hunter has his reasons. In time perhaps he will be able to tell you. Hunter isn't the best person with words and, as you say, he never talks about his past. Maybe he just hasn't been able to explain himself to you, but I'm sure one day he will. Until then however, we have a training session to get on with."

Everyone groaned but got to work. Blake only joined in half-heartedly. He was wondering how Hunter was getting on…


	3. Ground Rules

Thanks to everyone who is reviewing - keep it up! Its great to get feedback on your work. Makes you feel loved! Ok here's chapter 3...

* * *

"Oi, you. Stop daydreaming and give me a hand luggin' all your crap inside." Phil yelled at him. With a sigh, Hunter grabbed a couple of boxes and followed him into the house.

The house _was_ large. It had three floors and a basement. Hunter had no intention of going down there in a hurry. His new room was on the second floor. It was quite big and airy, with a sink and mirror in one corner. He dumped his stuff on the bed. Phil had already put up some shelves and he stood in the doorway as Hunter looked around.

"Watcha think?" Phil said, trying to make conversation.

"It's good, thanks."

"You got a good view of the bay from here."

"Yeah, thanks for everything. You didn't have to." Hunter said awkwardly.

"I didn't do it for you. I did it for your mother."

"Oh, right. Well, thanks anyway. I'll just unpack and…"

He was cut off as Phil raised a finger and jabbed him in the chest. "Don't take that tone with me boy. You haven't changed, I can see. There's rules in this house."

"Of, of course." Hunter stammered, backing away.

"Rule 1." Phil growled. "You address me as 'sir', remember?" He paused expectantly.

"Yes…sir." Hunter said.

"Rule 2. The third floor is strictly out of bounds. That's mine and your mother's area. Rule 3. You don't go out with out telling me exactly where you are going and who with. I'm a reasonable man; I just don't want my wife's son mixing with the wrong folk and doing inappropriate stuff."

"Yes sir." Hunter said. He was shaking.

"And finally," Phil growled, leaning close. "What I say goes. This is my house. You are nothing but a nuisance. I won't have any trouble from you, y' hear me? Otherwise I'll make you wish you'd never been born."

Hunter looked at him angrily. "If you hate me so much, why have you forced me to live with you? You didn't have to come here. Why couldn't you have just left me alone…"

He was cut off as Phil swung a huge fist and caught Hunter around the side of the head. The blow knocked him to the floor. Blood trickled down his chin – the force of the blow had caused him to bite his lip.

"You're here 'cos your mother wants you to be here. An' there's plenty more where that came from. But of course, I thought you learned that when you were a kid. Just 'cos you've grown up a bit, it still doesn't mean you're big enough to get away with all that nonsense. Watch your mouth, y' hear me?"

Hunter, still sitting on the floor, nodded. "Yes sir." he whispered, tears stinging his eyes. He wouldn't let Phil see him cry though. He _did_ remember; tears just led to more pain.

Phil turned to leave, "Unpack your stuff and clean yourself up, then come down for the pancakes your mother's made you." With that, he was gone.

Hunter got unsteadily to his feet. He'd had worse knocks since he'd become a power ranger, but this one was different. This one came from a monster he could not fight.

He walked over to the sink and stared at his reflection in the mirror. The area where the fist had caught him was red and it stung as he dabbed it with a cloth. He winced; it was going to be black and blue. The others would wonder what he'd done. He couldn't tell them the truth, they wouldn't understand. With a sigh, he wiped his face clean and turned to unpack. He hadn't brought much, just his clothes and some other bits. He didn't have much else anyway.

He was almost finished when he came across a photo in a glass frame of him and the other rangers on the beach at Tori's birthday party. There was Dustin, orange with only sunglass marks around his eyes because he'd used some tanning lotion; Shane, relaxing after fighting an alien all by himself; Tori, grinning into the camera despite having their first attempt at her birthday party ruined by Lothor's goons; and finally Blake, his brother standing next to him, laughing at some joke. Cam had been holding the camera and wasn't in the photo. Hunter clutched it to his chest tightly and sank down in a corner. He didn't want to be here. There was a lump in his throat. He'd been wrong; nothing had changed. He was trapped and there was nothing he could do about it. How long he sat there he didn't know; silent sobs shook his body. Why did _he_ have to come back?

Suddenly he heard footsteps on the stairs. Getting up quickly he wiped the tears from his face and put the photo on a shelf.

"Honey, are you nearly done?" Maggie said, coming into his room with a huge smile on her face. "Oh it's just wonderful to have to home after so long. Phil and me are going to go out for a bit. Will you be ok by yourself?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine."

Phil appeared behind her in the doorway.

"Actually," Hunter said quickly. "I've got to go to work." He looked at Phil. "Is that ok…sir? I'll be back by…," he hesitated. Work finished at five. "…six."

"You got a job?"

"Yes sir, at Storm Chargers. Just a stock boy, but it pays ok."

Phil shrugged, "Whatever, be back by six then."

Hunter waited until they had left before making his way to Storm Chargers. He was dreading seeing his friends.


	4. Nature Club

Thanks to everyone who is R&R-ing. Its great to hear from you. If you have any comments that could make the story better, dont be afraid to say!!!! Thanks again and on with chapter 4...

* * *

The other rangers weren't around when Hunter entered the shop. Kelly was busy serving a customer and just waved him into the stock room. He knew what to do; a delivery had just come in so he needed to make sure it was all ok. He worked quietly for an hour before he heard the arrival of the others. 

"Have you seen Hunter today?" he heard Shane ask Kelly.

"Yeah, he's in the back. Stock duty!" she replied with a laugh.

He bent his head over the stock books and pretended to look busy, hoping they wouldn't notice his face. They couldn't fail to notice it though, he though. It was swollen slightly and turning a lovely shade of purple. Shane poked his head around the door.

"Hey stranger. Kelly say's you've been working in there for an hour and are due a break so come and get a smoothie while it's cold."

There was no escape. Hunter sighed, put down the pen and followed Shane to the main shop.

"Wow!" Dustin exclaimed as he caught sight of Hunters face. "What happened to you?"

"I had a slight accident," he said. "I fell when I was carrying some of my stuff to my room. One of the boxes caught me on the head."

Blake looked at him quizzically. Hunter refused to meet his eyes, looking at the floor instead.

"Well, have a smoothie. It'll make you feel better."

"Thanks." he said.

"You coming to the race track later?" Dustin asked. "We're gonna have a practice run for the competition this weekend."

"I can't." he said. "I have to be home by six."

"Ooh six! So late!" Dustin said with a laugh. "Well, work finishes at five and Kelly says you can knock off early so you'll get a couple of races in at least. Come on, don't back out on us man!"

Hunter grinned, "Of course I'm not backing out. I'll be there."

When Hunter got home, his parents weren't back. He took of his muddy clothes and put them in the wash. With any luck, Phil wouldn't notice. He could still race! All he had to say was that he was working; then hope Kelly would let him go early. Even if she didn't, he still had an hour to race. He felt much better. He knew if Phil ever found out there would be trouble, but racing was his life. No way was he going to give that up! That night he slept with a small light on beside his bed.

* * *

The next problem came when he had to go to Ninja Ops. What could he tell Phil? Something he would believe, but wouldn't be interested in it too much to find out more. Nervously, he made his way to the sitting room where Phil was watching soccer. 

"Uh, sir?"

"What do you want?"

"I go to this club. It's sort of a nature thing. We go into the woods and we've got a meeting today. I wondered if I could go? Please?"

Phil dragged his eyes away from the telly. "Nature club?"

"Yes sir."

"Whatever floats your boat. Be back by six."

"Yes sir." Hunter was jubilant. He had the afternoon to race; training sessions were morning only at the moment because of the heat.

* * *

The days passed. While Hunter was happy at being able to trick Phil into letting him go out when he needed to, home life was not happy. He still couldn't find the words to tell the others what was happening, but they did notice that Hunter seemed to be getting clumsier. He was always covered in bruises, from 'falling down'. 

"The stairs in my house are murder." he joked.

Yet he never showed any signs of clumsiness around his friends. He never fell over and his balance on his bike during races was as good as always.

All he could think was thank god for Ninja healing powers. If it wasn't for them, he'd be in a much worse state.

* * *

The other problem came when he got the call that there was an alien to fight. How was he supposed to tell Phil that he had to go off and be a power ranger? It was all right if he was at work or at 'nature club', but when he was at home? And what if it took longer than he was allowed to be out? He would just have to be late home and face the consequences – more often than not Phil's fists. Luckily the heat of the summer had prevented most of the monsters being sent down from space, so the few occasions he had to leave home at short notice he just used the excuse that Kelly had called saying she needed extra help last minute, and Phil had bought it. But Hunter couldn't help thinking that it couldn't last…... 


	5. Suspicion

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for all your reviews. I've said it before but it really is great to have your work appreciated! Ok, here's Chapter 5...

* * *

… And it didn't.

One morning, about two months after Hunter had moved in with his parents, Blake and Dustin were play fighting in Ninja Ops while waiting for Hunter to arrive. He was always late recently. Twenty minutes after they had agreed to meet, he came rushing in, full of apologies. Dustin, hoping to delay the training session even more, flung himself at Hunter in a ruby-style tackle that knocked them both flying. Hunter yelled in pain as Dustin landed on top of him.

"Sorry dude, I didn't mean to land on you so hard." he said, offering Hunter a helping hand up. Hunter took it and then bent over in pain.

"Hey, I didn't hit you that hard." Dustin said, puzzled.

"No, it's not you." Hunter winced then straightened. "It's nothing."

But Blake wasn't convinced. "What's the matter?" he asked him in a low voice so the others couldn't hear.

"I said it's nothing." Hunter said with a smile.

Still unconvinced, Blake waited until they were sparring then took the opportunity to wrestle his brother to the floor.

"Ouch!" Hunter yelped in pain. "Get off Blake!"

"Come on, I'm not heavy enough to hurt you!" Blake replied with a laugh. Hunter went to shove him off; in the struggle that followed Hunter's t-shirt tore. They stood gasping. Hunter grabbed the tear in an effort to conceal what lay beneath, but Sensei had seen.

"Stop!" he called. "Hunter, lift up your t-shirt." he commanded.

"Sensei…" Hunter appealed.

"Sensei nothing. Do it."

With a sigh Hunter reluctantly lifted his top to reveal his ribs covered in black, blue and purple bruises. The others gasped.

"How did that happen?" Sensei asked.

He couldn't tell them that, because he'd been ten minutes late back from the track as he'd had to get changed, Phil had decided to teach him punctuality – with his fists.

"I fell." he replied.

"Again?" Dustin asked. "Wow, you're really getting clumsy."

Sensei didn't buy it. "Hunter, come with me." Sensei said, and sat on his shoulder as they went outside, leaving the others to carry on the training session. "How did you really get those bruises?"

"I said, I fell down. Honestly Sensei, I've just been a bit clumsy lately."

Sensei jumped onto a piece of rubble and looked at him, almost disappointed. "I always though you were a very truthful person, Hunter. But just recently…" he shook his guinea-pig head. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Nothing." Hunter almost yelled. Then he said, more quietly, "Sensei, I'm fine. Please, don't worry. I'm sick of people acting as if there's something wrong. Look, I have to go to work. Kelly asked me if I'd sort out the new delivery. Is it ok if I go?"

Another lie. What was he turning into? He just wanted to get away from all the questions - and goinghome wasn't an option.

"Very well. I expect to see you tomorrow, bright and early."

"I'll try Sensei. Thank you." With that he was off down the mountain.

Sensei watched him go with a sigh. He could tell something was wrong, but how could he help him if he wouldn't talk about it? He'd have to have another talk with him tomorrow.

* * *

After hanging around the beach for a few hours, Hunter finally decided to go home. He'd been thinking, about what Sensei had said, and maybe he was right. Sensei would understand, even if the others couldn't. Tomorrow he would speak to Sensei, if he could find the right words. Hunter had always found it hard to talk about other peoples emotions – so talking about his own was near impossible, but he _would_ try. Feeling much better, Hunter set off home. 

However, what was to happen next would drive all thoughts of tomorrow out of his mind……


	6. House Arrest

Hey everyone! Thanks again for all your great reviews, you know what I'm gonna say - keep it up! I know I'm mean for leaving that last chapter where I did... hee hee! Oh well, here's the next chapter. Oh, and to 'prettygirl' - it's not always easy to fight back when someone hurts you, keep reading to find out more! Thanks again and enjoy...

* * *

When Hunter got home, he knew something was wrong. Maggie had been crying.

"Mum, what's wrong?" he asked her, worried. But she wouldn't answer him, or meet his eye.

"Mum?" he asked more urgently.

"How could you Hunter?" she said, her eyes filling up with tears. "After everything, how could you lie to us?"

"Lie? Mum, I don't understand. What are you talking about?" he asked, suddenly scared.

"You know exactly what she's talking about." Phil's voice came from behind him. "Where were you today?"

"At work."

"But it was your day off?"

"I told you, Kelly called last minute. It was an emergency."

"Really? So why was it that when we called in to see you Kelly told us that she hadn't asked you to work today? In fact, told us that she'd never called you to come in on any day you said she had. How do you explain that?"

Hunter felt dizzy. "I, I don't know…"

"You don't know, eh? Maybe I can jog your memory." A blow knocked Hunter to the floor. Darkness clouded his eyes and he could taste blood. He heard Maggie scream. Phil knelt down next to him and put his face close to his.

"Do you know what else Kelly said?"

Hunter shook his head.

"She says that work finishes at five for you, not six. She even lets you go early if business is slow _and _she also say's you're always disappearing during the day. So where do you go for that time, eh?" Before Hunter could answer, Phil carried on, "I'll tell you shall I? She says you spend all your time at the racetrack. Apparently you're a bike racer. Quite good she reckoned."

Hunter stared at Phil in fear as he drew closer; "I can explain..." he tried to whisper but was cut off by another blow, which left his ears ringing.

"I'm sure you can. But it ends now, y'hear. I've called Kelly and said you are unable to work there anymore. There won't be anymore little outings for you. Get to your room. Now!"

Hunter got up, his legs shaking. He felt light-headed and sick. It was all he could do to get to his room without falling over. The beating that followed was one of the worse he had ever known. When he finally came to, it was morning. The door to his bedroom was locked. With a groan he dragged himself over to the sink. The face in the mirror was hardly recognizable as his. Both eyes were swollen and turning purple and his lip, where he had bitten it was red and puffy. He looked at the time. Nearly eleven. He should have been at Ninja Ops hours ago. He'd promised Sensei. He was going to talk to him, try and explain what was happening, but that clearly wasn't going to happen now. What would they be thinking? He'd let them down _again_. He felt so helpless.

An hour later the door was unlocked and Maggie came in carrying a tray of food. Her eyes were slightly red.

"Oh Hunter baby!" she sniffed. "Look at the state of you." She stroked his hair and held an ice pack to the side of his head. "But you brought this upon yourself you know. Bike racing? After what happened to your…" her voice cracked. She started again, suddenly angry, "How could you lie to us? You know what he's like."

Hunter didn't answer.

She stood up quickly, knocking the tray of food flying. She just stared at the mess, then said, "He says I can leave your door unlocked, but you're not to leave the house. Understand?"

He nodded. With a sad smile she left him. He looked at the food, his stomach growled hungrily but he didn't move. He was just numb.

* * *

"Where is he?" Blake said. "I know he's been late recently, but a whole hour? He's gonna have a hard time explaining this one to Sensei. He promised he'd be here. Where is he?" 

"I don't know. I don't think he's going to turn up." Shane said.

Little did they know that at that particular time, Hunter was barely conscious in his room. Sensei, after another glance at the clock, sadly decided to start the session without him, in the hope that he would turn up soon. But the training session ended without a sign of Hunter.

Blake grabbed Shane as they went to leave. "I'm worried. This isn't like Hunter."

"Hunter hasn't been very much like the Hunter we know recently." Shane said.

"Will you come with me, to see him? He respects you; you might be able to talk some sense into him."

"Either talk or beat some into him." Shane remarked. He saw the expression on Blake's face. "Oh all right. I want to have a look at his new house anyway. We'll go after you knock off from work. The way he's been recently, it wouldn't surprise me if he's at Storm Chargers."

But before they could get there their morphers beeped with the news that an alien had been sighted.

Shane raised his eyebrows at Blake. "Looks like Kelly's gonna have to wait."

Blake nodded, "She's gonna start to get suspicious man, I swear." he sighed, "Me, Hunter and Dustin are always leaving work at odd hours."

"Well, look on the bright side. At least we'll get a chance to speak to Hunter afterwards." With that he was off towards the quarry, where, surprise surprise, the alien had been found.

"That's assuming he turns up." Blake muttered to himself before running after Shane...


	7. Where the hell is Hunter?

Hey everyone. Thanks again for your great reviews. Here's the next chapter (I'm not very good with monsters and stuff but I've given it my best shot!) Enjoy...

* * *

Tori, Dustin, Shane and Blake reached the quarry together. They saw the alien almost straight away.

It was humanoid in shape and looked as if it was wearing some sort of medieval armour. It turned to its head to face them as they approached; the only part of its face that could be seen was two glowing green eyes from deep within its helmet.

"Well well well, what have we here? Only four of you to face me?" he gave an evil cackle. "Never mind, prepare to face your worst Knightmare!" With that he raised what looked like a lance and pointed it at them, firing bolts of energy towards them. It missed, but was very close.

"Right, let's blast this dude." Dustin said.

"Ok guys, time to morph." Shane said.

NINJA STORM

RANGER FORM

HA!

the Wind rangers yelled.

Blake, on his own, followed with the Thunder Ranger's cry of

THUNDER STORM

RANGER FORM

HA!

It was one of the few times he had done it without his brother beside him and man did it feel weird.

Drawing their Ninja Swords, the three Wind Rangers ran at Knightmare. With a quick flick of his wrist, Knightmare slipped the lance into its holder on his back and drew his own sword from its sheath at his side. He countered the Ranger's blows easily. Blake ran at him, Thunder Staff at the ready but was easily thrust aside.

The rangers regrouped.

"Where the hell is Hunter?" Shane gasped for air.

"Don't know." Blake answered. "This is not like him…"

"Guys, now is not the time to discuss Hunter's recent behavior." Tori said. "Let's get this dude then we can complain about his lack of group commitment."

The others agreed and the fighting resumed.

_Meanwhile in his room Hunter was hunched up in a corner staring at his beeping morpher as if it was going to bite him. He knew that his friends were out there right now battling some evil, putting their lives on the line to save the world again and he was powerless to help them. He put his hands over his ears and attempted to block out not only the sounds of his morpher, but also the sounds of the argument his parents were having downstairs. Phil was shouting again; Maggie was screaming and crying. Hunter knew it wouldn't be long before Phil would come storming upstairs to take out his anger on him…_

After about ten minutes of fierce battle with neither the Rangers or Knightmare gaining an advantage, Knightmare just turned and ran.

"See you in your dreams rangers." he yelled over his shoulder, and then was gone, leaving the rangers stunned.

"Why'd he just go?" Tori asked.

The others had no answer.

"And where the hell was Hunter in all of this? Man, I can't believe he'd bail on us like this." Dustin said.

"Hey bro." Shane said to Blake. "We gotta be getting to Storm Chargers. You're already late and I want a word with Hunter." he added menacingly.

But once they reached Storm Chargers, Hunter was nowhere in sight. Kelly looked a bit flustered.

"Hey Kelly, have you seen Hunter today?"

"Hunter? No."

"But he should be at work, right?"

"Didn't he tell you?" Kelly asked.

Seeing the blank look on their faces, she continued. "His parents came in here yesterday looking for him. He'd told them I'd called last minute and needed some help. I hadn't, of course. Turns out I've called him a number of times recently. His mum said that he was always at work. The funny thing is, I don't even know his new phone number, and he certainly hasn't been in here."

Blake and Shane exchanged glances. They knew exactly where he had been at those times. Seemed fair that he hadn't told his parents.

But then Kelly surprised them "They also had no idea he raced. They thought work finished at six, not five. He hadn't told them he was at the race track." She shrugged. "I don't think they approve. Anyway, last night I got a call from Phil, Hunter's step-dad, saying that Hunter won't be able to work here anymore. And that was that. I haven't seen Hunter all day." With that she turned and went to serve a customer that had just entered.

"Well, that settles it. Something funny is going on. Let's go see what Hunter has to say for himself." Shane said grimly. They turned and headed for the door.

"Guys, could you just give me a … hand?" Kelly sighed. They'd gone again. She really was going to have to get some more reliable staff…


	8. From bad to Worse

Heyya everyone. Thanks for all your great reviews; scarlettWALES, YellowCrimsonforever, Ghostwriter, Jorgitosbabe and all you other guys - you know who you are! Here's chapter 8, you know the drill: read, review, enjoy!

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when Shane and Blake arrived at Hunter's house.

"Phwooh" Shane whistled as they came in sight of it. "I see what you mean. There's bags of space for a bike here."

"Yeah, and the track is only a five minute walk that way." Blake added.

"Well, he didn't tell them he was racing… Anyway, let's go and see what he has to say."

Hunter was in the kitchen when the doorbell rang.

"Hunter, go get the door." Maggie called from the lounge.

With a sigh he opened the door. Blake and Shane stared at him in horror. "What the hell happened to you?" Shane said. "And don't you dare say you fell over. You don't get injuries like that from falling over."

"I, I came off my bike. I was an idiot, riding without a helmet. I'll not do that again in a hurry. That's why I couldn't come this morning. Grounded for riding dangerously. Mum doesn't like me riding anyway."

"Liar." Blake said through gritted teeth.

"Kelly told us everything. You haven't been riding since Monday." Shane explained. "Now will you tell us what's really going on?"

But before Hunter could even think of answering, Phil appeared behind him. "Who's this?" he asked.

"This is Shane and Blake. Friends of mine from that nature club I told you about." Hunter said, desperately hoping that they'd play along.

"Nature club?" Shane said. "What nature…" he was cut off as he noticed the look on Hunter's face. "Oh, yeah, _that_ nature club."

But it was too late. Phil grabbed Hunter, "You been lying to me 'bout that as well."

Hunter shrank away from his touch. "Please, I'm sorry sir. I didn't mean…" he raised his hand in a futile attempt to ward off the blow that he was sure was coming. To his surprise, it didn't.

"Get inside." Phil barked at him. Hunter didn't argue; he couldn't bring himself to look at his friends. Phil turned to Blake and Shane. "I'm afraid Hunter won't be coming out to play for a while," he said in sarcastic sugary-sweet tones. "He's been a very naughty boy." And with that the door was slammed in their faces.

"I think we need to see the others." Shane said to a stunned Blake. "Come on, let's go."

Just then, their COM devices on their morphers announced that another alien had been sighted.

"Later then." Shane said with a sigh, and the two of them ran towards the quarry.

Meanwhile Hunter had run up to his room, terrified of what was to come. He clutched the photo of Tori's party like a child would clutch a teddy bear and hunched down into a corner. Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs and he looked up to see Phil enter the room. No words were spoken; Hunter was hauled to his feet and the photo pulled from his grasp. It was too much. He reached out for the photo, tears running down his cheeks.

"Please?" he whispered pathetically.

Phil stared at him with disgust, then dropped the photo onto the floor, where it smashed.

At that moment, Hunter's morpher, which he wore disguised as watch, beeped with the message that the alien had been sighted.

"What's that?" Phil asked.

"J-just my watch…"

Phil grabbed it off his wrist. Hunter was filled with panic. Phil could have anything but not _that_.

"Please, please no!" he begged as he tried to snatch it back.

But Phil simply gave him a push which sent him sprawling to the floor, hitting his head on the corner of the bed as he fell. He lay there, too scared to move, not even raising a hand to stop the blood that trickled down the side of his face and dripped onto the floor. The morpher was dropped on floor in front of his face and Phil, slowly and deliberately, crushed it beneath his foot. Hunter stared at the mangled remains in shock.

"I'm gonna make you wish you'd never been born boy." Phil growled…


	9. Blow up the alien

Ok, I'm not good at writing fight scenes (in all honesty who is?) but I figured we needed a break from all the depressing stuff so I thought a happy 'blow the alien up' chapter was just what we needed… Short and sweet, here you go - enjoy!

Actually, I'm not sure why I've put this chapter in here. It seemed the right thing to do at the time so I apologise for it and I promise to make it up to you very soon!

* * *

"Where's Hunter?" Cam asked as Shane and Blake turned up, already morphed.

"I don't think he's going to be able to make it again." Shane answered grimly. "Let's just bust this dude then we need to talk."

"Oh, ok."

Dustin and Tori came running up already in their blue and yellow ranger outfits to join them.

"Look who's back." Dustin said, indicating Knightmare.

"Well hello rangers. Back for another beating?"

"Dream on, metal-man." Tori yelled back. "We ready to get rid of him once and for all?"

"Hell yeah!" Dustin said. "Let's get him!"

Ninja swords raised the three Wind Rangers charged at Knightmare, closely followed by Cam with his Samurai Sabre and Blake with his Thunder Staff.

After twenty minutes of battle with both sides giving and receiving serious blows, the Power Rangers decided that they weren't really getting anywhere. Cam was out of the battle already, as a well aimed blow from Knightmare's sword had caught his shoulder. He was sitting well out of harms way, waiting for his healing powers to kick in.

"Ok." Shane said as they regrouped. "I think it's time to put our weapons together."

"Not with mine." Blake said. "We can't have the Thunderstorm Cannon without Hunter's Crimson blaster."

"Damm him." Shane cursed. "Never mind, we'll put ours together and you fire yours at the same time it should have a similar effect."

In a very short time the three Wind Rangers had put their three weapons together to form the Storm Striker.

"All righty then, Storm Striker ready and raring to go." Shane said. "Blake, you ready with your Antler?"

Blake nodded and took aim.

"On my count… Three…Two…One!"

Two blasts of energy hit the alien simultaneously. There was a loud explosion and Knightmare disappeared in a blast of sparks. The rangers knew not to celebrate too early – Lothor was likely to send down a scroll of empowerment and make his monster grow. But, amazingly, Knightmare did not return in any shape or size.

"Wow, maybe Lothor's ran out of scrolls." Dustin said hopefully.

"Doubt it." Cam said, joining them, still holding his shoulder "But whatever the reason, he's gone for now."

They were filled with relief and Shane and Blake briefly forgot about Hunter, until Sensei's voice caught short their celebrations, "Rangers please report to Ninja Ops immediately."

Something was wrong…


	10. The beginnings of realization

I'm posting this chapter early 'cos I promised to make up for that last one. I'm glad (and surprised) that it got so many good reviews - you can be honest you know! Well, anyway, here's chapter 10, enjoy...

* * *

"What is it Sensei?" Tori asked as the five of them entered Ninja Ops.

"I think Cam better take a look at this." Sensei said; a paw raised towards the computer.

"That's not right." Cam exclaimed.

"What?"

"Hunter's morpher's gone off-line; about the time that alien appeared."

"Off-line? What do you mean? He switched it off?"

"They _can't _be switched off Dustin." Cam said patiently. "Something's not right. I'll try to trace it." Shoulder injury forgotten, his fingers flew over the keys. "That's odd. The morpher appears to be in a trash can outside Hunter's house. I'll send Cyber Cam to collect it. Something strange is going on here."

"This isn't even the beginning of it." Shane said.

"What?" They all turned to look at him.

Blake swallowed. "Me and Shane went to see if Hunter was at Storm Chargers after he didn't turn up for training or for that alien and Kelly had some weird news for us. Hunter doesn't work there anymore. Turns out that he's been lying to his parents, saying he's been at work when he's been up here or fighting aliens…"

"Well, that's alright," Tori began, "He can't exactly tell them that he's a power ranger can he?"

"He hasn't told them he races either. It seems they don't know very much about him." Blake continued. "So we went to his house. He opened the door…" Blake hesitated.

"He was black and blue," Shane carried on. "When we challenged him he tried to say he's had a bike accident."

"But we know he hasn't been riding since Monday." Blake chipped in.

"Yeah, anyway, before he could give us a truthful answer his step-dad appeared. Hunter told him we were his friends from a 'nature club', only I kinda gave the game away. Anyway Phil got angry and started yelling at Hunter and Hunter shrank away from him. I mean, he actually flinched. Phil didn't hit him, but Hunter blocked anyway."

"Hunter expected to be hit; you could see it in his eyes. He was surprised when nothing happened." Blake added softly.

"Phil told him to go inside and he did. No argument. There was fear, real fear, in his eyes. I've never seen Hunter look like that. Man, he's taken a serious beating. I hope we didn't get him into anymore trouble, although I hate to think what sort of state he's in at the moment."

There was silence.

"Hunter wouldn't let anyone hurt him." Dustin said firmly. "He'd hit back twice as hard. Phil isn't much bigger than him; Hunter could beat him easily."

"In theory, yes." Cam said. "But to beat someone you have to _believe_ you can. I don't think Hunter believes he can."

"Huh? Dude, if someone hits you, you hit 'em back."

"What Cam is trying to say," Sensei cut in, "is that it's not all about strength. Hunter _could_ beat his step-father if he wanted to, but we don't know what Hunter has been through. If his step-father bullied him as a child, Hunter might be too afraid to fight back. We don't know anything about Hunter's life before he met you, Blake. We don't know what demons there are in his past that may be being brought to life right now. And we are only assuming that it is his step-father that is causing him all these injuries…"

"But, Sensei," Shane protested, "we saw…"

"You need proof." Sensei said, but was prevented from saying more by the arrival of Cyber Cam with Hunter's trashed morpher.

"Jeez, look at it." Tori said as the mangled remains were put on the table.

Cam bent over the pieces as the other waited in silence. Then he straightened up, his face grim.

"This wasn't an accident." he said. "Someone has deliberately stood on or crushed it."

"Who?" Shane asked.

Cam gave him an exasperated look. "Shane, as brilliant as these things are, they cannot talk to me– " he trailed off. "Wait a sec." he hurried over to the main computer and began typing frantically. "These things do, however, have a recording device on them; maybe Hunter…" he waited expectantly as the computer whirred.

"Like a cry for help sort of thing?" Blake said, peering over Cam's shoulder.

"Yes, he did! Here we are…"

There was a pause, then Phil's voice came over the speaker.

"_What's that?"_

"_J-just my watch,"_ came Hunter's reply. His voice cracked a little and sounded a bit tearful.

There was the sound of a struggle; then Hunter's voice again, this time filled with panic.

"_Please, please no!" _

There was a thud which sounded like someone falling to the ground, followed by a bang as the morpher hit the floor. There was a crashing noise, then only static.

The rangers stared at one another in silence.

"That settles it." Shane growled. "Phil is behind all this. I'm gonna go and beat his ugly…" he was stopped from leaving by Dustin.

"Hold it man. That doesn't prove anything."

"How can you say that?" Shane nearly shouted. Blake was quiet.

"This is one of those rare times when Dustin is right Shane." Sensei said softly. "Wait! Before you open your mouth, let me finish. I agree the evidence does point towards Hunter's step-father, but we need something more to go on. I suggest we have a look at what Social Services have to say about Hunter."

Cam stared at Sensei in amazement, "Father that would mean hacking into their files. That's illegal!"

"I know son, but one of our fellow rangers is in trouble, so I think we can bend the law this once." He gave a small guinea-pig smile.

They looked at one another. Mutual agreement passed silently between them.

"Ok then." Cam said as he began typing. "Here we go."

Time seemed to be passing at the speed of a snail, until there was a small sigh of satisfaction from Cam.

"Ok, I'm in." he said finally. "Searching 'Hunter Bradley'." They waited. Cam looked puzzled. "There's no information held on a Hunter Bradley."

"Wait. Try 'Robinson'. That's what he was called before he was adopted." Blake said quickly.

Cam typed in 'Search: Hunter Robinson'.

"Success!" he exclaimed. Then his face fell. "My god." he whispered. "I had no idea…"


	11. The truth of Hunter's past

Hey everyone. Thanks for all your great reviews - but stop trying to make me feel guilty (**YellowCrimsonforever** "pleading look") cos it works! Anyway, sorry for leaving it on such a cliff-hanger. I don't think this one is _much _better but you'll have to read it and find out!

The rangers find out Hunter's past - what will they do next? Read and review!

* * *

"I had no idea…" Cam trailed off, staring at the screen.

"What? What is it?" Blake said urgently.

Cam swallowed. "It says here that Hunter's real father died in a motorbike accident when he was only five. A year later his mother remarried Phil Robinson. During the next four years, Hunter was in hospital almost 600 times with varying degrees of injury! When he was ten he suffered serious head injuries and was in a coma for two weeks. He was then removed from the care of his parents, but within a few weeks he was back with them. Then, when he was eleven, he had to be forcibly removed from their care after suffering another 14 unexplained injuries that he had to go to hospital for. Phil was sentenced to five years in prison for child cruelty and neglect; his mother was sentenced to 18 months for child neglect. When Hunter was in care they found he was covered in no less than 130 cuts and bruises all over his body. He had terrible nightmares and refused to sleep alone in the dark after the things Phil had apparently said would 'get him'. It appears he had been locked in a dark room with no food for days on end while Phil taunted him…" Cam trailed off. "There's a list of all the injuries Hunter suffered. My god." he repeated. "There's everything from broken bones to what looked like knife wounds and rope burn." He shook his head in disgust. "How could anyone do that to a child?"

There was a stunned silence. Then Blake jumped up. "I'm going to get him out of there. I'm going to kill that sonofabitch!" he yelled.

"No!" Tori stood in his way. "No Blake. This Phil is dangerous. If we mess this up, think how much worse it could be for Hunter." she said. "Come on, we'll sort this out. We'll get Hunter out of there, no worries. But you've got to calm down, ok?"

Blake nodded. "You're right." he said. "I'm sorry. I just can't bear the though of my _brother_ spending another second with that monster."

There was silence.

Tori put her hand on Blake's arm. "It'll be ok. You'll see." She looked at the others. "What are we planning on doing?"

Cam shrugged. "We don't know what the situation is. We should wait at least a day, to see if Hunter turns up."

"What!" Blake exploded again. "A _day_? Hunter could be dead in an hour! What the hell are you thinking?"

"As I said, we don't know what the situation is." Cam said calmly. "Hunter might turn up tomorrow. I think we should wait before barging in." Sensei, Dustin and Shane nodded slowly in agreement. Tori paused, then added her agreement. "That's settled then." Cam said. "We wait until tomorrow afternoon. If there's no sign of Hunter by then… then we'll come up with something."

Blake gave them all a look of disgust, even at Tori, before storming out.

"I'll go speak to him." Shane said with a sigh.

"No. I will." Tori said. "No offense Shane, but I think this needs a more subtle touch – you're too blunt." With a smile she followed Blake.

"Blake! Wait up." She called and ran to catch up with him.

"Leave me alone." he said harshly.

"Blake wait." Tori said in a commanding voice.

He stopped; his back still to her. "How could you side with them?" he said, a slight break in his voice. "I thought you… I thought you _liked_ me."

Tori paused. "I do, Blake. Like you, I mean. But we weren't going to get them to change their minds. What Cam said made a lot of sense…"

"Sense! I don't care about sense. I care about my brother."

"I know…" She was cut off as the others approached. Making a swift decision she wrapped her arms around Blake and put her mouth close to his ear. From where the others rangers were, it just looked like she was giving him a hug. "Don't do anything stupid tonight." she whispered. "I know for a fact that Hunter's parents are going out early in the morning."

"How…?" Blake whispered back.

"Don't ask. Meet me outside Hunter's house at 7, before training." She pulled back. "Ok?"

He nodded.

"You ok man?" Dustin asked.

Blake nodded. "Tori's talked some sense into me." he said with a wry grin. "I'll see you tomorrow." With a small smile at Tori he headed off back to his empty apartment…


	12. Finding Hunter

Hey everyone - I'm here again! Just wanna reassure you guys that just 'cos I've got another story up DOES NOT mean I'm gonna neglect Wordless. This one is my top prioty - I have no idea what PTT is - it's weird, random and has been bugging the hell out of me. Thanks to all those who said something nice about it, it's not what I've been yelling at it! Anyway...

**Crimson-Ranger**: I accept you offer to be my bodyguard; you can protect me from all the people that are gonna kill me 'cos I left it on _another_ cliff-hanger!

**White Shogun Ranger: **You're gonna hate me...

**Ghostwriter**: You've never seen NS? You've missed out! Thank-you for r&r-ing my story – it's nice to know that you don't have to have watched the show to understand it!

And to everyone else: thank you! You know who you guys are – I love you all! Here's chapter 12, enjoy…

* * *

Blake was awake early. In fact, he hadn't gone to bed that night. Worry for his brother had kept him awake. It was all he could do to stop himself from storming over to the Robinson's house and breaking Hunter out, but he had thought about what Tori had said and realized it made more sense. Thinking some more, he also realized that the others hadn't been wrong either. It was true. They didn't know if Phil was doing all these things to Hunter. To them, Hunter always appeared as a calm, fearless person who would fight with everything he had if he was attacked. They couldn't understand how he could not fight back if someone was hurting him. 

But Blake had been there when Hunter first arrived at the Bradleys. He was 12; Blake only 10, but Blake had remembered the pale, quiet boy who had walked through the door clutching only a ragged toy that he had been given at the Home – it was his only possession. He remembered Hunter sitting up at night, trying not to go to sleep because if he did then the nightmares would be there. But of course, sleep would take him eventually and then the nightmares would surface. What he dreamed of, he never said. But they made him cry and scream and toss and turn, trying to fight a losing battle with his invisible enemies. As the years went by, the nightmares eased. It was very rare now for Blake to hear Hunter scream in his sleep. Hunter had always been there for Blake, standing up to the bullies at school for him and helping him at the Thunder Academy. And Hunter never cried. It was almost if he was afraid to. Even when their parents, their _adopted_ parents, had been killed, Hunter's eyes remained dry. Blake had cried, and Hunter had comforted him. It had always been like that. Now, things were different. Blake was sure Hunter needed him, and he _wasn't_ going to let him down.

He finally dozed off on the sofa and woke in what felt like only a few minutes, but had actually been a few hours. He gazed blearily at the clock, 05:40. There was no chance of him getting back to sleep so he eased himself off the sofa and dragged himself to the bathroom to have a hot shower. Feeling much better afterwards, he forced himself to eat something before leaving the apartment.

He reached the Robinsons house at six thirty and hung around across the road in a small clump of trees just out of sight of the house. Then, at ten minutes to seven, he heard the door open. Peering through a gap in the leaves he saw Phil and Maggie walk out, get into the car and drive off. They seemed a perfectly normal couple, Maggie even laughing at something Phil had said. Hunter was not with them. Tori had told him to wait for her, but Blake was filled with a sense of urgency to get Hunter out before they returned. He headed swiftly down onto the road and hurried towards the front door.

"Blake!" Tori called as she headed up the road. Seeing him heading for the house, she ran to catch up with him.

"The Robinsons…?"

"Just left," Blake answered.

Tori grinned triumphantly, "Let's do this then."

Blake nodded and together they made their way to the front door. It wasn't as if they had to be worried about the neighbors seeing – the next house was a half hour walk away.

"How do we get in?" Blake asked as they approached the door.

Tori grinned and rang the bell, "We've got a man inside, remember?"

But no one answered the door. Tori tried again but still Hunter didn't appear.

"Are you sure he's in there?" Blake said.

"Yeah, he hasn't left."

"How can you be so sure?"

Tori gave him an exasperated look, "If you must know I had Cyber Cam watch the house for me." She tried the door. It was locked. "Got any bright ideas?" she asked Blake.

"Wait a sec," he crouched down and reached under the mat on the front step. With a triumphant smile he produced a key.

"How the hell did you know that?"

Blake shrugged. "Lucky guess." He put the key in the lock and opened the door. The house seemed strangely still.

"Hunter?" Blake called softly. "Are you here?" Again there was no answer. Leaving the door open, they made their way into the silent hallway.

"Where's his room?" Tori whispered to Blake.

"Why are you whispering?" Blake whispered back.

She shook her head. Neither of them could explain it, but they did it anyway.

"I'm not sure where his room is. I think he said it's on the second floor."

With quiet footsteps they climbed the stairs and made their way down the hall, checking each room. At last they reached what must have been Hunter's room.

It was trashed. His stuff was strewn over the floor. Blake walked into it in stunned silence, his foot crunching on some broken glass. He looked down, then bent over and picked up the photo from the crushed remains of its frame. He froze.

"Blake, what is it?" Tori asked.

He knelt down. "Tori," his voice was shaking slightly. "Come here and tell me what this looks like."

With a puzzled frown she walked over, stepping around the stuff on the floor. She stared at what Blake was pointing at.

"It looks like…" she paused, not sure if she wanted to say it.

"Blood." Blake finished for her. He stood up grimly. "Come on. He has to be in here somewhere."

But though they searched all three floors thoroughly, there was no sign of Hunter. They were just about to give up and leave when they passed a door they hadn't tried. It was locked, but the key was hanging on a nail beside it. Unlocking it, they were greeted by a set of dark stairs that led down into the basement.

Holding tight to hand rail, they made their way down the steps. Tori found the light switch on the wall, but it didn't work. As their eyes grew accustomed to the semi-darkness – what little light was being let came from a small grimy window set high into the wall – they could make out a hunched figure in the corner.

"Hunter!" Blake let out a cry and ran to his brother. Hunter stared at him, his eyes like that of a wild animal.

"Blake?" he croaked. "What are you doing here? You mustn't be here…" panic filled his voice.

"Come on, we're getting you out of here." Blake tried to pull Hunter to his feet. As his eyes adjusted some more, Blake saw that Hunter was filthy and covered in bruises and swellings. There was a nasty cut above his right eye and dried blood still caked his face. Hunter tried his best to stand. It took a painfully long time, but finally he was on his feet. Blake draped Hunter's arm over his shoulder and held him around the waist to support him. Together they managed to walk the few feet over to Tori.

"Oh my god." Tori whispered in shock as she saw Hunter clearly for the first time. She grabbed Hunter as his legs threatened to collapse under him and between the two of them they managed to begin the slow process of getting him up the stairs. They were nearly three quarters of the way up when they heard an engine outside…


	13. Confrontation

Hey everyone, me again! Thanks for all your great reveiws - and what did I say about making me feel guilty? No more pleading looks! Umm, ok the person that read this through for me said I should give people a warning. Warning: this chapter contains domestic violence and nasty bits. Just thought you might want to know. And how I've left this chappie... please don't kill me! Love you! Here's chapter 13 - it's getting worse!

* * *

They froze at the sound of the engine.

"Come on." Filled with fear they tried to hurry Hunter up, but his legs were too stiff and cramped as well as beaten. He couldn't go any faster.

"Maggie, stay back," came Phil's voice from the hall. "There's someone here."

They heard him go into the kitchen before approaching the stairs to the basement. Phil hit a switch outside the open door which Tori and Blake had not seen. The basement was flooded with a bright light that made them shield their eyes.

"What the hell is going on?" Phil asked, his voice steady but with a menacing undertone to it.

The three of them froze.

"I asked a question. I expect an answer." Phil said evenly.

Something in Blake snapped. "We came to rescue Hunter. No one should treat a dog like the way you've been treating him," he yelled at Phil.

There was a flash of anger across Phil's face and in a second he was right in front of them. There was murder in his eyes. Hunter saw it.

"Please, don't hurt them," he said quickly. "It was my fault. I asked them to come…" he knew as soon as the words were out of his mouth that he was going to suffer for them but he didn't care. He couldn't let anyone hurt Blake.

Phil stared at him. "Liar." he said, quietly at first, then yelling it. Hunter tried to take a step back, but Phil gave him a helping shove before he could find a stable place to put his foot. He fell backwards, cracking his head off the stone stairs on the way down. He heard Tori scream. He lay at the bottom, stunned, but only for a few seconds as Tori screamed again. Hunter got up slowly, his head spinning. He gingerly felt the back of it with tips of his fingers. They came away red with blood.

"Leave them alone." he yelled up to where Phil had raised a fist at Tori. To his surprise, Phil did stop. Suddenly Phil was down the remaining stairs and right in front of Hunter. Tori and Blake saw him punch Hunter in the side. Hunter's eyes widened in shock and he turned pale – it was only when Phil drew back his arm that they saw the fist had a now-bloody knife in it. Hunter staggered back, clutching his left side. Blood seeped between his fingers. He leaned against the wall, the room blurring in front of his eyes.

"That'll teach you to lie to me." Phil growled.

"No!" Blake made to run down to his brother, but Tori grabbed him, her own eyes wide with fright.

"No Blake," she said. Her hands were shaking.

Phil turned to them, the knife still in his hand dripping blood, Hunter's blood, onto the dirty basement floor.

"Come on, please," she almost begged Blake, who was standing there staring at his brother.

Hunter, scared that Blake would do something stupid, gathered together the remains of his strength and stood up away from the wall. He forced himself to walk over to the bottom of the stairs.

"I'll be fine," he told them through gritted teeth. "Just go. I don't want you to get hurt for me."

Blake looked at him. Hunter, biting his lip, nodded. "Go, I'll be fine," he repeated.

Tori, pulling Blake slightly behind her, gave Hunter a weak smile and walked up the stairs. Blake reluctantly followed.

Phil pushed past Hunter and followed them up the stairs.

"Don't hurt them," his voice was barely whisper. Phil gave no indication that he had heard.

Hunter stood there until they were out of sight, then his strength failed him. He'd lost a lot of blood, and on top of that he'd had no food or water for almost a day. His legs gave way and, still clutching the bleeding wound in his side, he collapsed onto the dirty floor.

Phil followed Tori and Blake up the stairs and into the hallway.

"Hold it there," he said.

They slowly turned to face him.

"If you breathe a word of this to anyone, your friend down there is as good as dead. Y'hear?"

Shaking and pale, they both nodded. Even Blake wasn't going to argue with him at that moment.

"Now clear off. I don't want to see your faces around here again."

Once Tori and Blake were clear of the house they broke into a run. They were late for training, but both of them knew that after what they had to say, training would be forgotten.

Phil made his way back down to the basement. Hunter was in a barely-conscious heap at the bottom of the stair. His eyes were only slits and the blood had formed a puddle where he lay. Phil rolled him onto his back.

"Maggie." he called up the stairs. "Get me the emergency kit will ya?" Hunter's breathing was shallow and ragged and his skin was cold and clammy. Phil ripped Hunter's shirt away from the wound and inspected it with practiced hands. It wasn't deep, but it was bleeding heavily. Maggie came down with the emergency kit and some rags. She knew what to do. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Phil nodded and told her to go and get the dinner ready. Not even bothering to clean the wound, Phil stuffed some rags into it and then bandaged it shut. Hunter moaned and stirred slightly.

"Water," he croaked.

Phil stood and dragged him to a corner where a thin mattress had been put and dumped him on it. "I'll leave you to the monsters," he hissed, before he walking up the stairs, turning off the light, and locking the door.

Hunter lay alone in the dark, shivering and shaking, lost in his own private nightmare until finally all consciousness was lost……


	14. Rescue Plan

Hey everyone, sorry I've taken longer to update this time, thought I'd leave you all hanging for a bit longer... No I'm only joking, I have a proper reason why I couldn't update but it doesn't matter, Chapter 14 (wow!) is now up so thanks for all your great reveiws and enjoy...

* * *

"Where are Tori and Blake?" Sensei asked as the others arrived for the agreed morning training session.

They shrugged, "We haven't seen them." Shane said. "I hope Blake hasn't don't anything stupid," he added, "He was pretty upset last night."

"Blake does whatever Tori tells him to do." Dustin chipped in. "She probably was comforting him last night and they've over slept," he said with a smirk on his face.

"Dustin!" Shane said shocked.

"What? It's about time the two of them admitted their feelings for one another." But before they could discuss the matter any further, Blake and Tori came running in.

"Hey love birds…" Dustin started to greet them with a grin, but was cut off by the looks on their faces.

"What's happened?" Shane asked, the smile wiped off his face.

Tori was pale and her eyes were slightly red, as if she had been crying. "Don't be angry with us," she began, with a nervous look at Sensei and a tremble in her voice. "But I had Cyber Cam watching the Robinson's house and I knew they were going out this morning so me and Blake thought we'd go and visit Hunter. The door was locked but Blake found a key and we went in but we couldn't find Hunter and his room was trashed and it looked like there was blood on the floor so we looked around the house and then we, we found the door to the basement, and …"

"Slow down, calm down." Cam said, fearing she was going to hyperventilate.

Tori was shaking. "We went down to the basement," she continued softly "and…" her voice cracked and she chocked back a sob, "…and Hunter was, was there." She turned her head away from them so they couldn't see the tears that were running down her cheeks.

"Hunter was in the basement and…?" Shane prompted her.

She shook her head to say she couldn't go on; she didn't trust her voice.

"It was dark." Blake said. They turned to look at him. He hadn't said a word since they'd arrived but he had to continue where Tori could not. "We didn't see the light switch at the top of the stairs and the one at the bottom didn't work. Hunter was in a corner. He was in a terrible state. All bruised and he was covered in, covered in blood. His blood. We managed to get him on his feet and we were almost up the stairs when Phil came back." His voice was calm but it was all he could do to keep it steady.

"What happened then?" Sensei asked, his voice soothing but firm. He could tell something bad had happened and neither Blake nor Tori wanted to really talk about it. Blake was doing his best, it was very hard for him, but they _had_ to know.

"He was really mad." Blake managed to say. "Really mad. He switched on a light and was yelling at us, then Hunter stepped in, said he'd _asked_ us to be there, that it was all his fault. But Phil knew he was lying and that made him angrier. He pushed Hunter. He fell, down the stairs. I heard him hit his head. There was blood I think. On the back of his head. He got up though. Then Phil was down there next to him, he punched him, only he had a knife, there was more blood, so much blood." Blake's eyes were wide now as recounted the horror of what he'd seen.

Tori gave another sob, then ran out of Ninja Ops. They heard her being sick outside.

"So much blood." Blake whispered, his face deathly pale. He looked like he was going to collapse.

"Steady there." Shane put out an arm to stop Blake falling. They got him a chair. He was shivering. Tori came back, still pale but with a bit more colour in her cheeks. She'd stopped crying.

"Can you tell us what happened next?" Sensei said to her. The others were in shock at what they had heard. "Please, it's important. What happened after Hunter was stabbed?"

"He, Hunter, told us to get out of there. He said he'd been fine, he didn't want us hurt for him. So we, we left him there, and Phil followed us up. He said if we told anyone Hunter would die. We ran all the way here. It was so horrible," she finished.

"We have to help him." Blake said, his voice regaining some of its strength. "I don't care what you lot said. If we'd waited, would it have made much difference?"

"Hunter might not have got stabbed…" Dustin began, but was cut off by a kick in the shin from Shane.

"He's my brother." Blake said. "I couldn't just leave him there, knowing what that monster might have been doing to him. And I was right," he said firmly, almost daring anyone to challenge him. No one answered. "We got to help him." It was almost pleading.

"Of course, but how?" Shane, ever the practical thinker, said.

"We blast in there, full ranger form and blast Hunter out." Dustin said, as if it was obvious.

"We can't do that. And we can't just walk in there either. You know what Phil said, we can't show our faces there." Tori said.

"Well if we were in ranger form we wouldn't be showing our faces would we?" Dustin countered. "I don't see why we can't…"

"Because we have rules, remember?" Shane said.

"That is correct, Shane." Sensei said. "Rangers must not use their powers for personal gain."

"Sensei, please…" Dustin said.

"But I think that helping a fellow ranger in need does not count as personal gain, rather as an emergency. Don't you agree?" They nodded. "Very well then. Take Hunter's morpher, Cam's fixed it, we'll get you into the house, strap it on Hunter's wrist and me and Cam can do the rest from there." He smiled a guinea-pig smile.

The others were astonished. Sensei was always so strict about rules, he'd already broken one when he'd had Cam hack into Social Services and now he was encouraging them to use their Ranger powers for something other than fighting the forces of evil, even though it was the general feeling that Phil was a force of evil so they were, in theory, using their powers for what they should be used for!

"All right guys, it's morphing time!" Shane said.

Within moments they were all morphed and ready to go.

"Here." Cam handed Blake his brother's now-fixed morpher. "Just strap in on his wrist and give me a shout. We'll have him outta there in no time."

Blake turned to go, then thought of something. "Cam, he's badly hurt. Will it be safe to transport him here like that? I know how bad it felt that time we did it, when our powers had been drained, just before you got your powers.() Will it affect Hunter?"

Cam shrugged. "I don't know Blake, but I think in the circumstances it's a risk I'm willing to take. The question is, are you?" Seeing Blake's uncertainty, Cam added, more gently, "If Hunter is in a worse a state as you've told me, then the sooner we get him here the more chance there is for him to survive."

Blake nodded and turned to the other three. "Let's do this."

* * *

() The Samurai's Journey Pt.1 


	15. Saving Hunter

Hey everyone, I'm back! Thanks for all your great reviews:

**Sreym **- thanks, you knowI had to look parenthesis up in a dictionary!

**YellowCrimsonforver** - yeah, I'm a meanie, especially where I've left this one!

Everyone else - thanks. Here's chapter 15 up and ready to go... Don't forget to review!

* * *

Phil was sitting down in front of the television when he heard the sounds from the basement. He slammed his dinner down on the table and stormed towards the locked door. Unlocking it, he flung it open.

"What the hell are you doing down there?" he yelled.

There was silence. Phil was fuming by now. What was that boy up to? What kid had Maggie dumped on him? He was going to have to teach him a lesson, one he might actually remember this time. Snapping on the light he made his way down the stairs.

"I asked you a… what the hell is going on?" Expecting to see just Hunter, he was met by four people in different coloured suits of lycra. The Navy one, which had just been kneeling next to Hunter jumped up and ran across the room. He picked Phil up and slammed him against the wall, holding him by his throat.

"How dare you treat someone like that." Navy yelled at Phil as he choked. "You shouldn't treat anyone like that." He slammed him against the wall again.

"Bl… Navy Thunder Ranger. That's enough." The Red Ranger called anxiously to his team-mate. "You'll kill him."

"It's nothing more than he deserves." The Navy Ranger growled, but let him go anyway. Phil slid down the wall, massaging his neck and gasping for air.

The Navy Ranger turned his back on him and went back to Hunter. "It's ok bro," he said in a low undertone so Phil couldn't hear. "I'm here, you're safe now."

Hunter moaned and opened his eyes slightly. There was a noise from the top of the stairs. Maggie stood there, one hand over her mouth.

"Ok Samurai." The Yellow Ranger said apparently to no one. "Get us out of here."

Hunter stared at his mother as he began to glow with a crimson light. He saw her run down the stairs towards him before the darkness took him.

Maggie stared at the place where her son and the four rangers had disappeared in coloured lights, then knelt down beside her husband to help him. Supporting him slightly, she helped him up the stairs, only looking back once to see if it had all been a dream. But Hunter was gone…

* * *

"Hunter. Please, stay with us," Blake begged his brother. "Where the hell is this friend of yours Sensei?" he said angrily. "He's dying. Why can't we just take him to the hospital?" 

They had arrived back at Ninja Ops and demorphed. Hunter was in a worse state than any of them could have imagined. Seeing him properly, he was covered in blood and dirt. So much so that it was impossible to see the bruises underneath. Sensei had told them not to take him to the hospital. He had a friend who could do more for him than any hospital.

"Patience Blake. He will be here soon." Sensei said, trying to calm down the frustrated young man.

"Kanoi!" a voice called from the entrance to Ninja Ops. A middle-aged Chinese man walked down the steps.

"Jason." Sensei replied. Not many people knew his real name, but Jason was one of those few.

"Rangers, let me introduce you to an old friend of mine, Dr. Jason Chan. Dr. Chan was a student here once."

Dr. Chan grinned, "I decided my calling was healing people rather than hurting them. Now, let's see the patient."

If Dr. Chan was shocked at Hunter's appearance, he did not show it. "One of your strays Kanoi?"

"No, one of my students. He's had a hard time at home."

Dr. Chan didn't even blink. "Well then, I'll need some hot water and bandages. You know what else."

"You're just a doctor." Blake said, not moving as the others hurried to get the stuff Sensei listed. "What can you do for him that the hospital can't?"

"Blake," Sensei cautioned.

"No Kanoi, it's fine. The boy has a right to know." He smiled at Blake. "Your friend means a lot to you, huh?"

"He's not my friend." Blake replied. "He's my brother. Now please tell me what you can do for him or I'm going to take him to the hospital myself. He's _dying._" His voice had a hint of panic in it.

Dr. Chan nodded. "I studied here long enough to learn about ninja healing powers. When I left, I went to a different academy, one that specialized in the healing side of the ninja powers."

"Dr. Chan is one of the best and most experienced doctors around, mainly because he can use ninja healing powers to heal _other_ people, not just himself. It's not something many ninjas can achieve. If he can't help Hunter, no one can." Cam said.

"Are you satisfied now?"

Blake nodded.

"Ok. Everyone out, including you Kanoi. I'm sorry but this needs to be a clean environment. Guinea-pigs really aren't good in this sort of place."

They all made to leave, except Blake who sat down next to his brother who was lying on a makeshift bed and held his hand.

"I'm not leaving him," he said stubbornly, not looking at anyone. "I left him once; I'm not going to do it again."

"Fine." Dr. Chan said. "I'll probably need some help anyway." He met Sensei's eyes and gave him a small smile.

Once the others had gone, Dr. Chan got to work. "Here," he handed Blake a damp cloth. "I've got to be able to see what I'm working with. Get him cleaned up a bit but be gentle." Blake nodded and started to gently clean the blood and grime off Hunter. Meanwhile, Dr. Chan began on the wound in Hunter's side.

The others were waiting in one of the side rooms just off the main operations area. There was nothing to do but wait. Training was out of the question. No one could concentrate. Finally Dr. Chan appeared and announced that they could come back in.

"Well?" Sensei asked.

Hunter was still unconscious on the bed, but he was now clean. All the blood has been washed away and the full extent of his injuries could now be seen.

"He's got minor cuts and bruises over his entire body." Dr. Chan said in a low voice to Sensei, but the others were listening. "There's a big gash over his right eye and a cut on the back of his head which needed attention, but that's not what I'm really worried about. There're only superficial, however, he has a number of broken ribs and there's that deep cut to his left side. I've done what I can, but his own healing powers are nearly non-existent."

"Non-existent?" Dustin couldn't help himself. "What do you mean? We've all got them – it's part of our ranger power perks."

"Along with sensitive hearing too, I've noticed." Dr. Chan said dryly. Dustin turned pink.

"Dustin's right though." Shane said. "We all have healing powers. Hunter's used his more than once before. We know they exist; how can you say they're not there?"

Dr. Chan shook his head, "Over-use." he said simply.

"He's used them so much recently that they're just completely worn out." Sensei explained.

"And that's where the problem lies." Dr. Chan said. "My talent is using my healing powers to boost the patient's own. Hunter's are so used up that I'm relying almost completely on mine. The next 24 hours are crucial – he's not out of the woods yet."

Hunter was carefully moved from the main operations center to a small room that had been prepared for him.

"I'm staying with him." Blake said firmly. "He wouldn't want to be alone. If, _when_ he wakes up…I don't want him to be alone."

The others nodded. "I'll bring you something to eat in a little while." Tori said and they left him.

"His physical injuries aren't the only thing I'm worried about." Dr. Chan said in a quiet voice to the others. "If Hunter wakes up, I fear he will not be the same person that you knew before. He's been through a traumatic experience, and from what you've said, this isn't the first time. I have no idea what his mental state is going to be like."

"That's assuming he does wake up." Shane said softly. "All we can do now is wait."


	16. Awake but ok?

Hey everyone. How you all doing? I am completely drained right now as I have just ran a mile in under 8 mins. 'S ok but as I'm aiming at 6 mins I have a long way to go!

**NinjaFreak:** VAMPIRE HUNTER! Looks scared I've updated, I've updated - please don't stake me! Actually, if you do kill me you wont know how the story ends so I have Writer's Immunity so there! Sticks out tongue childishly!

**MzDany:** Sorry again! And you're absolutely right about Dr. Chan!

To everyone else: thanks for your reviews and I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

Ps. Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what type of car Conner drives?

Thanks again and enjoy!

* * *

Blake opened his eyes. Where was he? Then the memories hit him. He sat up quickly and saw Hunter lying on the bed. What time was it? He must have fallen asleep. He just sat there and stared at his brother. Hunter looked so helpless. The bruises on his face were already fading – Dr. Chan's good work. Blake reached out and gingerly touched Hunter's face. There was no response.

"Hunter. Please come back to me. Don't leave me like this. We were always going to go together, remember? Go out in a blaze of lights and action – not like this." Nothing happened. Blake laid his head on the bed. He tried to stop the tears, but they came anyway. Then Hunter's hand moved slightly.

"Hunter?" Blake lifted his head and wiped his tears away. "Hunter?"

Hunter's eyes flickered open. He stared at Blake, but didn't appear to 'see' him.

"Hunter? It's me." Blake leaned closer, but Hunter just stared straight through him. He didn't answer.

"I'll be right back, I promise." Blake told him, then got up and ran into the main room.

"Morning sleepy-head." Tori greeted him. "Hungry? How's Hunter?"

"He's awake." Blake almost shouted in delight.

"What?" Sensei was next to Blake in a second.

"He's awake, but…" he paused.

"But?"

"I don't know. He was looking at me, but it was if I wasn't there." His face fell.

"Did he say anything?"

Blake shook his head. "No, it was if I was invisible. I've got to go back – I promised I would. I don't want to leave him alone."

"Ok Blake. I'll get Dr. Chan over here."

Blake nodded and returned to Hunter. He hadn't moved. "Hunter?" Blake tried again, but got no response.

"What's up?" Dr. Chan appeared in the doorway.

"He's awake but he's, well, see for yourself." Blake could see Tori and the others waiting outside.

"Could it have been that knock to the head?" she suggested.

"Unlikely." Dr. Chan replied. "More likely this is his way of dealing with what has happened. Give him time. If he's like this in a few days then…" he left it unsaid that Hunter might be like that forever.

"What should we do?" Cam asked.

"Try to get him to eat something and keep talking to him. The sound of a familiar voice might bring him back from where ever his mind is at this moment. But apart from that, there is nothing else you can do. If there's any problem, you know where to find me." And with that Dr. Chan left.

"I'll go get him something to eat." Tori said and disappeared to the kitchen.

"Ok, there's nothing more to be seen. Dustin, Shane, Cam, I want a word." Sensei said. "Blake, you stay here with Hunter."

The three of them followed Sensei back to the main operations room.

"What is it father?" Cam asked.

"I'm worried about the effect all this is having on Blake." Sensei said in a low tone. "If Hunter doesn't get better, we don't know how Blake is going to take it. I want you three to take it in turns to sit with Hunter today to give Blake a break. Who knows, maybe hearing the different voices will, as Dr. Chan said, bring Hunter back from this 'living dream' he seems to be in."

"Sure Sensei." Shane spoke for them all.

"Here we are." Tori came in with a bowl of steaming soup. "It's tomato – I think that was his favorite."

Blake nodded, his head turned away from her.

"Blake, are you ok?" She put the soup down and touched his shoulder. He turned to look at her, a single tear making its way down his cheek. "Oh honey." She said and hugged him.

"He's my brother." Blake whispered, his voice breaking. "I can't bear to see him like this. What if he never gets better? That's what Dr. Chan was saying, right? He might not get better, and if he doesn't, what am I going to do?"

Tori pushed him away from her slightly so she could look into his eyes. "That's stupid talk and you know it." She said firmly. "Hunter is going to get better, you'll see. He just needs a little time. He loves you Blake; he's not going to leave you. Now, let's get some food into him. That'll make him feel better."

It was a challenge. Tori supported Hunter's head while Blake attempted to spoon-feed him.

"Come on Hunter." Tori said encouragingly to him.

Finally Hunter managed to swallow some of the soup. But after a few more spoonfuls Hunter's stomach just couldn't cope and he threw up. Once they'd cleaned him up, Shane came in to take over.

"Sensei says you're to have a break, so I'll sit with Hunter for a bit." Blake was about to protest but Tori forcefully dragged him out of the room.

"You need to eat." She said. "We don't want you to collapse on us as well – one invalid here is enough."

Shane sat down and stared at his friend. Hunter's eyes were shut now and he appeared to be asleep.

"Hey mate." Shane said softly. Hunter's eyes slowly blinked open, but he didn't register that Shane was there. "It's ok, you'll be better soon. Then I'm gonna kick that crimson butt of yours for not telling your friends what was going on!" He smiled at Hunter, but his smile faded as Hunter gave no indication of hearing him. There was an uncomfortable silence, with Hunter just staring at the wall. Finally Shane got up. He rested a hand briefly on Hunter's shoulder, but Hunter did not appear to feel it.

"Come back to us soon, bro." Shane whispered, and then went out to find the others.

One by one the other rangers took it in turns to sit with Hunter, but to no avail. Dustin tried some of his infamous jokes on him and Cam even managed to not talk computers to him, but Hunter didn't respond to any of it.

"See you tomorrow." Shane, Dustin and Tori got ready to leave. Blake had been given a room next door to Hunter's so he could stay with him. He had one last look in on Hunter, who looked to be sleeping peacefully, before going to bed himself.

But that night was far from peaceful. Blake was woken by a terrified scream coming from next door. Running through he found Hunter, eyes wide open, crying and turning about in his bed as if hell itself was after him. Cam and Sensei, woken up by Hunter's screams, appeared in the doorway.

"What's the matter?" Cam asked, slightly out of breath.

"It's ok." Blake replied calmly and went and sat down next to Hunter's bed. "He's just having a nightmare. You know, the ones I told you he used to have. It'll be over and forgotten about in a couple of minutes."

"Just a nightmare?"

"Yeah, just a nightmare." Blake said. "You guys go back to bed. He'll be fine. I'll sit with him to make sure he doesn't damage himself."

Hunter calmed down after ten minutes, drifting back into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The next day, neither Blake, Cam nor Sensei mentioned Hunter's nightmare to the others. They attempted a training session and, while Tori, Dustin and Shane managed to get into it, Blake's mind was on his brother. After he got hit by a punch from Shane due his lack of concentration, Sensei had Cam step in for him and sent Blake back to be with Hunter.

Hunter was sitting up when Blake got there; seemingly fascinated by the wall, although Blake wasn't sure he was even seeing the wall. He sat there without speaking for a few minutes, then touched Hunter's back to try to get his attention. Hunter didn't move.

"Hunter, please speak to me. You're my brother – you're all I have." Blake whispered, in the hope that his words might reach his brother.

But Hunter carried on staring at the wall. Blake shook his head. "I'll be back with some food. Maybe you'll be able to eat it this time." With a sigh he walked out. He hated seeing his brother like this. What was wrong with him?

Once Blake had left, Hunter continued to stare at the wall, then his brow creased up, as if he was struggling to remember something. He turned to look at where his brother had been.

"Blake?" he whispered…


	17. Healing?

Hey hey everyone. I'm back with chapter 17 (wow!)

**Ghostwriter:** Thanks for the idea but Hunter's already woken up!

**Jenihenpen:** Calm down! Breath! You've found it now - welcome on board!

**Crimson-Ranger:** Sorry, no kissing in this chapter!

**the peace pixie:** More of Phil? Maybe, maybe not!

**Ninja Freak**: Of course I know what's going to happen - I know everything... Giggle

Also a shout out to** YellowCrimsonforever**, **footychick**, **garnetred**, **CamFan4Ever**, **anyabar1987** and **Jorgitosbabe**. If I've missed anyone - you know I love you! Thanks for all your lovely reviews!

Here's chapter 17. Enjoy and don't forget to press the little button at the bottom of the page once you're done!

* * *

When Blake returned with the food, it didn't appear to him that Hunter had changed.

"Here you are." he said, putting it down on the table beside the bed. Just as he went to straighten up, a hand grasped his wrist.

"I hope you didn't make that." Hunter's voice was barely a whisper but it was enough for Blake. He turned around, first in shock, then with a big grin on his face.

"You're back!"

"I didn't know I'd been gone." Hunter croaked. "Wow, my throat is so sore." He blinked. "Have I been ill? I feel terrible."

Blake just stared at him. "You don't remember?"

A haunted expression crossed Hunter's face, then he shook himself slightly, smiled and said, "What is there to remember?"

"Don't you remember Phil?"

"No," he said shortly. Blake knew he was lying.

"Hunter…"

"I don't remember, Blake," he sounded angry. "Just leave it please."

Blake knew when to back off. "Ok then. I'll leave you to eat something." He walked out.

Hunter bowed his head. He wanted to forget everything. He wanted to lock it away deep inside and throw away the key, but Blake had brought the memories back to the surface, and Hunter knew the others would do the same. But he couldn't tell them. He couldn't tell _anyone_. He felt like it was all building up inside him and was going to explode. Angrily he grabbed the knife off the tray of food and impulsively drew it across his inner arm. Not deep, but deep enough to draw blood. He watched as the blood ran down his arm and amazingly he felt better. It was as if he'd found a way to let out all his anger, pain and frustration.

The others tried, and failed, to get Hunter to talk about what had happened. He'd either clam up completely on them or get angry. His body began to heal, slowly at first which fustrated him even more. But it was his mind that was still broken.

And after that first impulsive cut,he began to cut his arms regularly. Whenever he felt like the pressure of life was getting to much, he'd make one, maybe two cuts on the inside of his arms and let the blood out. And with the blood all the secrets he was trying so hard to keep. It made him feel better. Of course, he couldn't show the others his arms – they'd wonder what he was doing. So he took to only wearing long-sleeved shirts and tops. If they thought there was anything strange about this, they didn't say anything.

The night-times were the worst. It was as if he was back in his childhood. The light had to be on in his room and he tried to stay awake as long as possible. He was now pale with dark circles under his eyes because, even if he did sleep, it was not a restful sleep. Nightmares made him scream and toss about. Sometimes he'd wake up and Blake would be there, sometimes Cam, but they were no real help. Cutting himself became his only escape.

He was like a ghost. He wandered around Ninja Ops listlessly. They'd got him to join in training, but he couldn't do very much. It made him angry when he couldn't even do simple punches and kicks like he used to do. Finally, Sensei had had enough.

"Hunter, I know this is hard for you, but you've got to accept your body is going to take time to heal. It's not going to happen overnight."

"Why not?" Hunter shot back angrily. "It used to."

"This has been explained to you." Sensei said patiently. "Your healing powers have been over used. They're going to need to rest a while before they return."

"_If_ they return."

"Hunter…"

"Sensei, how am I to know that they're ever going to come back? Same with my Ranger powers. I, I tried to use my thunder powers the other day, while the others were out fighting that alien. Nothing happened. Sensei, they're _gone_." Hunter sat down, his head in his hands. "They were the only thing in the world that I was truly good at. Now they're gone, I have nothing."

Sensei sighed. Dr. Chan had warned him this might happen. "Do not worry Hunter. Your body has been through an awful lot recently. Give it time."

Hunter gave a small laugh. "You're saying that if I'd just told you what was going on, I wouldn't be in this mess now."

"Hunter…"

"No, you're right. Just like Phil. This _is_ all my fault." He shook his head. "Maybe I am useless. Here, you better have this." He put his morpher down in front of Sensei.

"Hunter…"

"It's no good to me now. Correction – I'm no good to _it_ now. You'd be better off finding someone who can do the job right now, not wait for someone who used to." Before Sensei could say anything to that, Hunter got up and walked away.

"What was all that about?" Cam asked his father, picking up Hunter's morpher.

Sensei shook his head. "I fear it's going to take Hunter longer to heal that we'd thought. I understand what's wrong with him now, and I'm afraid it's not just a case of rest and get better. He's got to sort himself out – we can give him no more help."

"Father, that's not really very…"

"What I mean, Cam, is that there is nothing we can _do_ to help him. It's inside his mind – something not even Dr. Chan can heal."


	18. Accidental?

Hey everyone I'm back. Have had a horrible day but I'm not gonna bore you with my probs! Also had a 'Conner' moment, whole 'foot in mouth' thing (my friend walked in to the room I took one look at her skirt and said "Are you wearing a tablecloth?"! She was less than impressed!)

**Syrem**: Please don't cry or feel bad! This chapter might make you feel better - or worse! I'm not promising anything! Also I can't read your next chapter on Hidden Love cos my school comps have blocked it. Any bad words in it!

**Jnr Cpl Scarlett**: Not quite over yet!

**CamFan4Ever**: No one's going to be kissing anyone - I was just telling Crimson-Ranger that!

And speak of the devil - **Crimson-Ranger**: NO!

**Evil Slash Piranha**: As you can see it is me!

Well enough with that, on with the story! Here's chapter 18... (don't forget to review!)

* * *

"Hey, Hunter. How about we go down the track this afternoon?" Blake said to his brother. The others looked up expectantly. Hunter hadn't been racing since that Monday before his parents found out, now almost two months ago.

Hunter was just about to say no, he didn't feel like it, when he changed his mind. "Sure. Why not? It'll be nice to get on my bike again."

After training, which Hunter only watched, Shane, Tori, Blake, Dustin and Hunter headed for the race track. Blake had got permission from Sensei to keep his and Hunter's bikes at Ninja Ops so they wheeled them along. Hunter had a few practice races with Blake to get back into it. They arrived back next to the others. Hunter was breathless but grinning and he had colour in his face, neither of which had been seen for a long time.

"Wow," he gasped. "It's great to be out on the track again!"

"I'm done for now." Blake said. "How about we go into Storm Chargers on the way back and grab something to eat. There's nothing wrong with Cam's cooking but it'd be nice to have a change."

"I'm going to have one more race." Hunter said suddenly. "It's ok, you guys can watch."

They nodded. "Sure, whatever dude. It's nice to have you back!" Dustin said, slapping him on the back.

Hunter grinned and put his helmet on, then kicked his bike to life and headed back to the main track.

After a few practice laps, he upped the speed.

"Man, what's Hunter doing?" Dustin exclaimed. "He's riding way too fast for that part of the track. He's going to kill himself."

Suddenly Blake understood. "The idiot!" he exclaimed and began to run towards the track.

"What?"

Tori got it too, "That's exactly he's trying to do!" she yelled back at Shane and Dustin.

"Oh my god…"

He was cut off as at that moment Hunter's bike hit a bump and Hunter was flung up into the air. He crashed down and landed heavily, his bike lying on the ground nearby. He didn't move.

Blake was there in a second. He knelt down beside Hunter.

"Hunter?"

Hunter groaned and pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. He sat back and pulled of his helmet.

Blake stared at him. "What the hell do you think you were playing at?" he almost yelled at Hunter. Dustin, Tori and Shane stood a little way back, not wanting to get involved now they saw Hunter was alright.

"Playing at?" Hunter winced as he stood up. "I mis-judged the track, that was all."

"Don't you dare lie to me Hunter." Blake said. "You know this track as well as I do – you did that on purpose."

Hunter went to walk away. "So what if I did? I'm alive aren't I?"

Blake stood and shook his head in disbelief as Hunter went and picked up his bike. "I'll see you guys back at Ninja Ops." Hunter said and wheeled his bike towards the road. Blake gave an exasperated sigh and threw a rock angrily in his brother's direction. It missed.

What was Hunter playing at?

Hunter got back to Ninja Ops and slunk back to his room, avoiding Sensei and Cam. Blake had been right – he _had_ done it on purpose. Maybe he wanted to die. But when he was riding, he could forget everything. And the faster he went, the less he had to remember. He felt so free. For the first time since Phil had come back, he hadn't thought of him. All he'd thought about was the speed and the riding. It had been great. Suddenly the memories that he'd been trying so hard to suppress rose to surface again and threatened to overwhelm him. Hardly thinking about it, Hunter reached for the knife that was under his pillow and went to draw it across his wrist.

"Hunter!"

Unbeknown to him, the others had returned and Dustin had said he was going to try to talk to Hunter. Hunter hadn't heard him approach and jumped at the sound of his name. The blade he had been holding against his wrist bit deep into his flesh.

"Hunter, I came to talk to you about…oh my god." Dustin stared at Hunter's wrist. Hunter followed his gaze and stared in almost puzzlement at the knife.

"Hunter don't…" Dustin began, but it was too late. Hunter had already pulled it out. Blood began to flow freely out of the gash and soon Hunter's arm and hand was covered with it. Dustin wasted no time. He grabbed Hunter's other hand and held it over the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, then hauled Hunter to his feet and man-handled him towards the main room where the others were telling Sensei about Hunter's latest accident. They were just going to love this…

* * *

"Sensei, he's crazy." Blake was almost yelling at him. "He did it on purpose." 

"He's right." Shane said, siding with Blake. "It wasn't an accident."

Just then the door burst open and Dustin, almost dragging Hunter, hurried through. Hunter was white and Dustin didn't look much better. They were about to ask what was wrong when they saw the blood.

"Cam, get Dr. Chan here asap. I don't care if you have to transport him here – do it!" Sensei ordered him. "Get Hunter sitting down, arm in the air. That should slow down the bleeding and if he faints then he's already on the floor. What the hell happened Dustin?"

"I went in there to talk to him and I think I made him jump. Then I saw the knife and the blood. I just had to get him here as quickly as I could."

Sensei nodded, "You did the right thing."

Blake was sitting next to his brother keeping Hunter's hand over the cut and the arm raised. Blood was still seeping from between his fingers, but it had slowed down.

Dr. Chan arrived in record time. "Look who it is – my favorite patient." He tried to smile at Hunter but Hunter just seemed completely bewildered by what was happening around him. "Ok, let's get this arm sorted out."

Within a few minutes Dr. Chan had stopped the bleeding and got a bandage around the wound.

"I don't understand, what was he doing with the knife?" Dustin said. He was clearly blaming himself.

"I can answer that." Dr. Chan said and with a swift movement, before Hunter could even think of stopping him, he had pulled up Hunter's sleeve. The criss-cross of cuts and scars could be clearly seen. "My work here is done for the moment. If he does anything else, give me a shout." Dr. Chan said and left.

Hunter stood up once he had left. "I'll just be getting back to my room," he mumbled and made to leave, but Blake grabbed him.

"Oh no you don't. Not until you tell me what's going on here," he said angrily. Hunter tried to push past him, but Blake pushed him hard against the wall and gripped his shoulders.

"Blake…" Sensei cautioned.

"Stay out of this," he told the others. "This is between me and my brother and I'm not going to stop until he tells the truth." Hunter tried to push Blake away, but Blake slammed him against the wall again.

"I want to know what the hell is up with you. We all know you've had a hard time. Oh look at poor Hunter, got beaten up by his step-dad and know he's in such a mess. Boo hoo. Yeah, so, you've had a hard time. But so have we. Now you're what? Trying to kill yourself?"

"Blake, please." Hunter whispered.

"We're you friends Hunter. I'm your brother. I deserve more than this. _We_ deserve more than this. What is your problem? All you have to do is open your mouth and talk for heavens sake. We can sort this out together. Why the hell didn't you tell me what was happening? All those times, you could have said. We'd have helped you. Why, Hunter, why?"

"Because I couldn't." Hunter yelled suddenly, giving Blake a shove that sent him flying. "I tried, but I couldn't find the right words. You wouldn't understand – none of you could understand." He sank down against the wall, tears falling down his cheeks. "I wanted to tell you so much," he sobbed. "I wanted to, but I, I just couldn't."

Blake got up and hurried over to his brother and put his arms around him. "Shhh, it's ok. It'll be ok," he tried to sooth him.

Hunter clung to his brother and just let himself cry. All the pain and anger that he'd been feeling just flowed out. He cried until there was nothing left in him to cry about. Blake held him until his sobs died away. The others quietly left them.

"Hunter?" Blake whispered softly to him, but there was no answer. He looked down at his brother and smiled when he saw he was asleep. He looked so peaceful. A bed was set up in the main room and with some difficulty he got Hunter into it. With a last smile at his brother, Blake went out to join the others.


	19. Explaining the Past

Hey everyone, I'm here with the next chapter! Quick shoutout:

**Jnr Cpl Scarlett** - I didn't end the story when they rescued Hunter because, as you said, the pain doesn't just end once they are 'safe'. It can stay with someone for many years and I wanted people to try to understand that!

On that note, here's chapter 19:

* * *

The rangers were sitting outside when Blake found them.

"How is he?" Shane asked.

"Asleep," came Blake's reply. He saw the look on their faces. "I know what I did seemed harsh, but I know my brother. He just needed a kick, that was all. I'm sure he'll feel better now that's out of him."

There was silence. None of them really knew what to say. They'd never seen Hunter like that. It had been a shock. Suddenly a scream ripped through the silence. It came from Ninja Ops.

"Hunter!" Blake was down the steps in a second, the others close behind him. Blake, scared that Hunter was in trouble, almost laughed in relief to find it was only a nightmare.

"It's ok," he said, "There's nothing to worry about."

But Dustin, Shane and Tori had never seen Hunter have a nightmare before and they were shocked to see him yelling and crying at apparently nothing, even though his eyes were wide open.

"Whoa, creepy." Dustin whispered to Shane.

"It's ok." Blake said again, to reassure them. "He's just having a nightmare. Give him a minute and he'll be fine."

Sure enough, Hunter's cries quieted and he lay still, his breathing slowly returning to normal.

His eyes flickered open. "What's everyone looking at?" he said sitting up.

Blake smiled at his brother. "You had a nightmare. Gave us all a fright screaming like that."

"Did I? I'm sorry."

"No worries bro." Shane said. "We'll know next time."

While the others were lounging on some chairs, Blake and Hunter were having a whispered discussion. It looked urgent.

"I wonder what those two are on about now?" Dustin said to Shane and Tori.

"Dunno, looks like we'll find out soon enough." Shane said.

"Fine, it's your choice Hunter. If you think it's the best thing…" Blake said and then the two of them stood up and headed over to the others.

Hunter looked nervous. "I've been thinking…" he began.

"That's dangerous." Dustin broke in. Shane gave him a punch on the arm.

Hunter smiled, then his face turned serious. "I've decided I want to tell you all what happened. Sensei reckons talking about it might help and, although I can't make you understand some of what happened…" he trailed off. "I owe you the truth," he said simply.

"Hunter no, you don't owe us anything." Tori began.

"No, honestly I do. I've been lying to you for so long. You guys deserve the truth, and I, I want you to know."

"If it helps man." Shane said. "But you know you can stop whenever you want to, alright?"

Hunter nodded and sat down. Blake sat on one side of him, Tori on the other. Dustin and Shane sat on chairs opposite and Cam and Sensei hung around nearby.

Hunter stared at his hands for a while and then started to talk quietly, "It's funny; I don't really know where to begin." He took a deep breath. "Ok, when I was five my father was killed in a motorbike accident. He was a racer as well. Strange how I've taken after a man I never knew."

He gave a small laugh. "I don't remember much about him. My mother was alone for sometime, then one day she brought Phil home. He seemed really nice. A good guy. He was friendly to me and it did look like he cared for my mother. It must have only been a year after my father died that they got married; probably because of me. My mother knew I needed a father and Phil seemed a good choice. Then it all started to go wrong. I don't know why exactly, but I remember the first time Phil hit me. I can't remember what I'd done, but it had made him angry and he hit me, hard, across the face. I'd never been hit before, not properly, before that. I was shocked and crying. He was disgusted. After that, he used to hit me regularly. For the smallest things, like, I remember once I was helping mum set the table. I was about seven and I dropped something on the floor. Phil went ballistic and started hitting and kicking me. It got gradually worse. I know I went to hospital a lot; an awful lot."

Hunter paused, the pain of remembering his past was clear on his face even though he spoke in a flat, emotionless tone. Blake put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, which Hunter held on to gratefully. He took a deep breath and continued, "You'd have thought they would have guessed something was up, even though Phil made me say I'd fallen over. If anyone at school noticed all the bruises, they didn't say anything. Then, when I was ten, a teacher asked how I got a cut on my head and I told her the truth – that my step-dad had hit me. The first and only time I've ever told anyone, except you guys. She went to see him and he was all nice and everything. I don't know what he said to her but it got rid of her suspicions. But once she'd gone…" he paused.

"I...I don't really remember," he continued slowly. Blake knew he wasn't being entirely truthful, but he wasn't going to pressHunter about _this_. "It's all a bit hazy. I remember a dark room and a lot of pain; then I woke up in hospital. I'd been in a coma for two weeks. After that, Social Services decided to investigate. I went to a Home for a few weeks, but then I was sent back."

He shook his head. "That year was the worst. I didn't go to school; I had to help around the house. Phil was mad. He'd almost gone to prison because of me and he wasn't going to let me forget that. He'd tell me all sorts of things to scare me and then lock me away in the basement, in the dark."

The others noticed Hunter's hands were shaking but his voice remained steady, even getting stronger as he continued,"Luckily my next door neighbour's son was in the same class as me at school. You see, Phil had said we were moving away, that's why I wouldn't be at school anymore. But the alarm was raised, 'cos they knew we hadn't moved away, and the police came round. Mother was screaming and crying, Phil was shouting. They were both arrested. I was literally pulled from my mother's arms and taken away."

_He said it so calmly, _Shane thought_, that's what made it all sound so much worse. He's just accepted it_.

"The people at the Home were lovely, but they couldn't understand me. I refused to talk about what had happened to me so there was nothing they could do. I heard that Phil had been sentenced to prison, with my mother, so I just thought it was easier to pretend they were dead. No one asks questions if you say your parents are dead." He turned to look at Blake. "I'm so sorry. I just wanted to make it all go away. I knew there'd be questions if I said they were alive but in prison and I didn't want to answer them. They were dead to me. Will you ever forgive me for lying to you?"

Blake swallowed. "There's nothing to forgive," he said with a weak smile, "I'd probably have done the same in your position."

"Well, there you are." Hunter tried to smile. "My life story. So, now you know. I can't ask you to understand, but I've explained myself to you and I hope you can all forgive me for not telling you."

"It's like Blake said." Shane answered him, "What is there to forgive? Don't worry about it man."

"So… does this mean you're back in the team?" Dustin asked.

Hunter looked away. "I can't, I'm sorry. I wasn't going to tell you guys, but my powers are gone. I don't just mean my ranger one's just 'cos I've handed in my morpher, I mean my thunder ones as well. I've got nothing there. I'm sorry, but there's no point in me trying to be something I can't be."

"Well Hunter, we have to respect your decision…" Shane began.

"No we bloody well don't." Blake said angrily. "Hunter you're a great ranger. You can't just bail on us bro."

"Not my choice." Hunter said with a shrug. "How can I be a ranger when I can't use the powers? Please Blake, don't argue with me. We've just made up."

But just as Blake was going to give an angry retort, the computers beeped a warning that an alien had been sighted.

"Uh oh, look who's back." Cam said…


	20. Back to Action

Due to my exams (AS levels - just had German oral and have 1st out of 3 History exams on Monday) I have decided to end Wordless here. BUT before people jump on me trying to kill/stake me I do have a sequal planned. It's called _Breaking Point_ and the first chapter should be up towards the end of the year (yes I know it seems a long time but I have to write it first!). For all you Phil-haters out there I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

And just so you're not compeletly without me I have a pre-written story with I'm going to be posting at intervals over the next few weeks.

Thank you for all your amazing reviews, you cannot guess how much they have meant to me. And to Sarah and Claire - thank you for getting me through this! Final shoutouts to: **CamFan4Ever**, **Jnr Cpl Scarlett**, **Crimson-Ranger**, **YellowCrimsonforever**, **Sryem**, **Jorgitosbabe**, **garnetred**, **BloriConra4ever**, **Ghostwriter**, **Jenihenpen**, **nikki-browneyes**, **EvilSlashPiranha**, **dancer1** and anyone else I might have missed. Thanks again!

Enjoy Chapter 20...

* * *

"Be careful." Hunter said to his brother as he prepared to leave with the others to fight Knightmare.

"If you came with us you could protect me yourself." Blake shot back.

"Blake, please…"

"No Hunter." Blake said, a trace of anger in his voice. "You should be with us now. Instead you're gonna hide here and watch. Hope we put on a good show. If you get bored just flick onto daytime tv. Bound to be something interesting on there."

"Blake…"

"Leave it Hunter. I'll see you when I get back." With that he turned and went over to join the others.

"Ready?" Shane asked.

"Ready."

With cries of

NINJA STORM/THUNDER STORM/SAMURAI STORM RANGER FORM HA!

the five rangers were soon all morphed. Hunter watched them leave; a wave of sadness flowed over him. He should be there with them. But how could he? He was powerless, _useless_.

The five rangers rushed to the quarry where Knightmare had made another appearance.

"Anyone getting sick of this guy?" Tori asked as they came to halt a little way away from the alien.

"Yep. Let's get rid of him once and for all."

"We said that last time and look at what happened." Shane said.

"Well look who it isn't." Knightmare said, turning to face them. "I guess I'm just a recurring dream – a bad one that won't go away!" he gave an evil chuckle.

"He has got to work on his humour." Dustin said. "Hey, dreamer! Buy a joke book or something!" he yelled across to the alien.

"Enough talk," he growled. Dustin's referral to him as 'dreamer' had clearly touched a nerve, or whatever it was that aliens had. "It's show time." With that he turned his lance on to them and fired bolts of energy towards them. The rangers dived for cover.

Back at Ninja Ops Hunter was watching the unfolding drama on the computer screen. He saw Blake attack the alien, only to be thrown across the quarry. He landed heavily and didn't move for a long moment. Hunter felt helpless. He could see his friends getting thrashed and there was nothing he could do to help.

"It's frustrating isn't it; to see evil happening and not be able to stop it." Sensei appeared next to Hunter's shoulder.

"Sensei, you know if I could I'd be out there…"

"So why aren't you?"

"I can't use my powers – you know that." Hunter said, a trace of anger in his voice.

"Take a look at your wrist." Sensei told him.

"What?"

"Just do it."

Shaking his head slightly, Hunter removed the bandage. The cut had vanished. All that was left was smooth flesh. He stared at it in amazement, then looked up at Sensei.

"My healing powers…?"

Sensei nodded.

"But, how?"

"The real reason you couldn't use your powers Hunter was because you were keeping so much inside you. So much pressure and strain that there was no room for your powers to manifest. Now you've let out all your secrets and suffering, your powers have space to work again."

Hunter stared at his arms in amazement – the scars were already fading. Soon it would be as if they'd never been there.

"Your morpher's right there if you want it Hunter." Sensei said quietly, indicating a box on the table.

Hunter bit his lip. "I don't want to let them down, Sensei."

"The worst thing you could do is not try to help them at all." Sensei said.

Hunter nodded and strapped his morpher onto his wrist, back where it belonged. With a smile at Sensei he yelled:

THUNDER STORM  
RANGER FORM  
HA!

Back at the quarry, the other rangers felt they were fighting a loosing battle.

"Does this guy ever give up?" Dustin gasped to Cam.

Cam shook his head. "Doesn't look like it. Come on." Together they charged at Knightmare, just to be thrown back again.

They all regrouped to consider their options. Just as it seemed their luck had ran out, a crimson blast of energy hit Knightmare from behind. Through the smoke a figure could be seen.

"Hunter?" Blake hardly dared believe it.

The crimson ranger ran down to join his team-mates. "I couldn't let you guys down now could I?" he said with an unseen smile.

"Great to have you on the team Hunter." Shane said.

"I think it's time for the Thunderstorm Cannon, don't you?" Hunter suggested.

"I thought you'd never ask." Shane replied. "Ok guys, let's put 'em together."

The five weapons were joined together and aimed at Knightmare.

"Would you care to do the honours Hunter?" Shane asked.

"My pleasure. Three…Two…One…FIRE!" A blast of super charged energy hit Knightmare full on, sending him off in a shower of sparks.

"It's not over yet rangers." Lothor growled at them from space. "Scroll of Empowerment, descend!"

"Man no!" Dustin exclaimed as Knightmare returned, bigger than ever.

"Time for the zords I think." Cam said.

"It's a big one this time. I think we should go straight into Hurricane Megazord formation." Shane said. "I've had it with this guy – let's just blow him to smithereens and be done."

Once each of the rangers had summoned their own personal zord, all of them joined together to form the intimidating Hurricane Megazord. Slowly it turned to face the empowered Knightmare. After exchanging some blows, the rangers finally had had enough.

"We ready to bust this dude?" Shane asked. The others voiced their agreement. The Hurricane Megazord's chest blades began to spin, slowly at first then gathering speed, summoning a destructive whirlwind. Knightmare was lifted into the sky and exploded in a huge display of fireworks and sparks.

"Yes!" the rangers gave a delighted cry as Knightmare was finally destroyed for good.

"That's one 'knight'mare that won't come back to haunt us." Shane said as they powered down.

Tori gave him a punch.

"Owch! What did you do that for?" he said, rubbing his arm.

Tori gave Shane a meaningful look and flicked her eyes in Hunter's direction.

"It's ok." Hunter smiled at his team-mates. "It's Shane's bad jokes I can't stand!"

"Oi!" Shane started to protest but was cut off by another punch from Tori.

Blake turned and looked at his brother, "So you're back then?"

From the clear blue sky came an answering rumble of thunder.

Hunter grinned, "I guess I am!"

THE END

* * *

I want to thank everyone who's reviewed this story (again!) and I want to dedicate this story to all the children suffering right now at the hands of those they love and trust. May they find the words to tell someone and not have to suffer in silence.

"…Just tell the nurse you slipped and fell,

It starts to sting as it starts to swell,

She looks at you, she wants the truth,

It's right out there in the waiting room

With those hands,

Looking just as sweet as he can…

**NEVER AGAIN**"

Nickelback


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